


Sanditon: Summer Love

by georgesjungle2



Category: Sanditon (TV 2019), Sanditon - Jane Austen, Welcome to Sanditon
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Gen, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-10
Updated: 2020-07-07
Packaged: 2021-03-04 02:01:06
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 48
Words: 118,611
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24635740
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/georgesjungle2/pseuds/georgesjungle2
Summary: A story about Esther Denham and Lord Babington (Charles Babington) set in a more modern setting.  Other favorite Sanditon characters to appear.
Relationships: Charlotte Heywood/Sidney Parker, Lord Babington/Esther Denham
Comments: 97
Kudos: 102





	1. The Detour

Charles Babington sat at his large oak desk prominently surrounded by sunlight beaming in from the office windows. He had assumed his family’s business several years ago in North Carolina. His sister, Augusta, ran the office in Virginia, although she was still working various positions to build her experience. He was not ready to let her to take over as a CEO just yet in one of the many businesses.

Last night, a violent storm tore through the surrounding areas. A buzz from his secretary.

“Sorry, Mr. Babington, but your pilot just called. All flights have been cancelled due to storm damage. Would you like for me to check the smaller airfields?”

Charles rolled his eyes. His new assistant was just a temp employee as his normal assistant had the unfortunate timing of delivering a baby two weeks early. He was happy that she had managed to wait until she had gotten off work before that process started but as it was not scheduled, she was unable to train someone to fill in.

Normally, her employer was a man with a pleasant disposition and easy on the eyes, Sarah nervously waited for his answer. She flushed whenever he came into viewing and blushed anytime she was required to take notes. Obviously, way out of her league, but from searches on the internet, he apparently was very much available. She found a lot of the other assistants that worked for him were slim and fashionable however other than being able to take constant direction, probably not the smartest of the bunch. Mr. Babington obviously liked pretty ladies. Most of them were similar as if they came off some assembly line. However, day three on the job, he seemed out of sorts.

“Mr. Babington?” She thought maybe he forgot she was still waiting for an answer.

“Have my driver bring my car around. I’ll drive.”

“To Asheville?”

Another eye roll to the intercom, “Yes, driving is a mode of travel.” Honestly, he wondered why HR would always hire the same type of women for his assistant. He mentioned one time, just one time, about how he liked a particular person and it seemed they were all the same from that point out. He ran his hands through his hair. Maybe, he should have told HR to make sure they graduated from grad school, not that the position really needed someone with that much education, but at least they would be able to make decisions without him.

“Okay.” The voice trembled back at him. He looked at his calendar. He would need to move some appointments to allow for the drive time, but as he had not had a road trip in a while, perhaps it would be a way to break up the mundane of his life. He looked at his watch. If he left shortly, he could drive the entire day and make it there late tonight. He could purchase some personal things and then housekeeping could have his current suit cleaned in time for his meeting on Monday without having to bother the maid to pack a bag.

Looking over his appointment, he frowned. He forgot he was supposed to be having dinner with Crowe and his new girlfriend. He really did not want to be a third wheel. Crowe of course told him to bring a date, but it had slipped his mind. He was tired of meeting all the same women. The ones that once they knew who he was, only cared for his family’s money. Sending an apology text to Crowe, he mentioned that he was going to have to drive to Asheville for a meeting on Monday due to the storm. He would take a raincheck.

Esther looked at her bank account and frowned. Ever since she had left her job to finish her degree, she had managed her money very well. At least up until last year, when everything had gone from top of the world to bottom of the well.

She had taken to traveling overseas for her internship last summer, England, France, Italy and Spain. She had met Peter just before she was leaving and loathed to part from him. She had used some savings to pay for his share. Working at a Jiffy Lube, he was not really on a fast track to anything of importance but he showered her with so much attention, she decided she would just need to be one of those women who made more than her significant other. It was a world wind romance and only after a few short weeks, they spoke about marriage and their future life.

She was pleasantly surprised as he proposed to her during their travel in France at the Eifel Tower. Of course, her and a lot of other ladies all in the same boat who were like minded. Fall turned into winter and her mother’s condition deteriorated. She was determined to return to the Eifel Tower for just the two of them for Valentine’s Day. Peter of course was ecstatic as again; he had no job and no prospects. He seemed to enjoy living off his parents and her.

She could not even get him to help around the remodel in the master suite. She had inherited a small bed and breakfast, which she determined to turn it into a one of a kind European B-N-B. The master suite heavily influenced by their time in France. From the ornate French doors to the European mattress that cost more money than a decent used car by the time you added in the bedframe, pillows, sheets and blankets.

The walls contained pictures of places within France to bring home the feeling. Behind another shabby chic French doors, the master bathroom contained a large soaking clawfoot tub, separate marble shower and French inspired dual vanities. The highlight was a chandelier that she had haggled with a dealer at an open market and had shipped home.

Hours were poured into stripping, sanding and staining the oak floors. All done long throughout the long nights, while Peter sat on the couch and made comments over whatever show he had been watching. She decided that the room was off limits until their wedding night. Peter of course complained about all the money she had invested in it.

Looking back over the year, she wondered what he really contributed to the relationship. Of course, upon reflection, it was just a shell of his presence when she needed someone. Her mother, suffering from dementia, was just a memory when she went to visit her in the nursing home. He would take her, although, he sat in the car. He would listen, as well as she could tell, when she would talk about her concerns about how the staff had been treating her mom.

Her brother, Edward, had chosen to forget his stepmother. Once she was admitted to Holly Brooke, she was dead in his eyes. He turned his time and attention to drinking and partying. He would grumble if Esther requested his help with anything to do with her. As the eldest, he controlled the finances of the estate left by his father and his stepmother. Over time, Esther requested less and less as it was always a battle to ask for any money.

Valentine’s Day approached and her mother had entered the last stage and she loathed to part from her knowing the passing could be any day. The trip was not insured, and it would cost an outrageous amount of money to change the reservations. Peter suggested he would go and take a cousin who would pay her back. Esther was disappointed that he would still go without her but as she could not get her money back and could not afford to change it, she agreed.

Finding out he had taken another girl, not his cousin, but another girl he had picked up and tagged along while confessing undying love for her, she was flabbergasted when he came back and told her he had gotten married overseas. Foolish girl, she thought, as she ate another spoonful of Eddy’s chocolate ice cream. The one year anniversary of their engagement was approaching and as much as she was determined to forget the whole year, it reminded and mocked her as she looked over at her shoulder at the ornate doors that beckon like a siren’s call.

She looked over the email from her professor. He had granted her an extension for her capstone project until the end of summer. Now, if she could just figure out what she was going to write about.

Charles Babington sat on the freeway and watched the clock. This is ridiculous, he thought. This was supposed to be a grand adventure to break up his life. Instead, he sat impatiently as he waited for the accident ahead of him to be cleared off. What is the purpose of having a fast car if it is idling? Minutes turned to an hour. Good thing he cleared off tomorrows’ appointments. He changed the radio station and found himself transplanted back to the 80s. At least the music was keeping him entertained.

Finally, cars moving again, he tapped the steering wheel to the beat of the music, determined to make up for lost time. His joy was short lived as another line of traffic began to form ahead of him. Looking at the GPS, it appeared the accident just happened. He groaned internally. He did not want to sit on the highway for another hour. Deciding that a short off-road detour would allow him to bypass the traffic he quickly got on the off ramp.

Through twists and turns, the road before him loomed. His internet radio seems to loss its signal which was a precursor to the GPS losing its’ signal. His momentary bright idea began to turn into a nightmare when he decided to just wing it and head in the general direction of north. He was bound to return to the main highway sooner or later. Road detour due to storm damage, put him further west than he realized.

The sun had already set, and it was getting late. Cursing to himself, he realized he should have stopped at the last gas station. By his estimation, he had about 50 to 60 miles on the tank before he would find himself needing a ride. Looking at his phone, he let out a heavy sigh. He had not turned off the navigation on his own phone when he made sure he had been going the right way and it was now dead. He had not drove this car in a while, so he doubted the phone charger would be in the glove box.

By magic, he noticed a sign for a town, not too far. Charles prayed it had at least a gas station. He was getting hungry as well. As he pulled into town, the gas station was closed and apparently had been for some time. Not that it was not bad enough, a low tire sensor went off on the dashboard. What a day, he reflected, as a local marshal turned on his lights and pulled in behind him.

Charles watched as he stepped out of his vehicle and put on his hat. Charles rolled down his window. “Lost?” the older man asked him, knowing full well he was.

“Low on gas as well on-air pressure.” The marshal lightly laughed.

“Let me look,” he turned on his flashlight and walked around the car. “I say real low on air pressure. Looks like you have been driving that way for a bit. You’ll be lucky if you didn’t bust your rim.”

“Is there a place that can repair it?”

“Not tonight and not here in town. As you can tell, this is an exceedingly small town.” As if the only four-way stop was any indication of that Charles thought.

“How about a tow truck?”

“Well, it will take probably a couple of hours to get here. Between the storm damage, road construction and accidents today, it is a miracle you made it this far. Where were you heading?”

“Asheville.”

“Asheville?”

“Yes, I have a meeting at the Biltmore Estate.”

“Well, I have heard of the place. There is a bed in breakfast nearby. You could stay the night and have the tow truck meet up with you tomorrow.” Charles hardly doubted it would be a comfortable stay but as his choices were limited, he had no choice. “Grab your bag.” Jester looked at the man’s face. “You do have one, don’t you?”

The look on Charles face implied he did not. “I was supposed to get into Asheville tonight.”

The marshal just laughed again. “Well, I shouldn’t be surprised at this point. Come on, I’ll let you ride up front unless you want to ride in the back.”

Not too much later, a knock at the door distracted Esther from the cursor on her laptop. Opening the door, she found Mr. Jester, the town marshal from the neighboring town standing in front of a well-dressed man.

“Sorry Esther, I know it’s late, but Betty Sue’s is booked, and her cabin has storm damage. I know your place isn’t completely ready, but I believe Mr. Babington has had enough adventure for one day and just wants to relax.”

She stepped aside to let them in. She watched him as he seemed to appraise his surroundings. She had to control her eye roll. Obviously, not up to standards she thought.

“I’ll have his car towed over to Webster tomorrow to Louie’s. He needs a new tire and some gas. As well as a decent place to lay his head. I’ve checked him out.” Jester gave her a wink. “not even a minor traffic violation in 10 years. Seems a rather disappointing stop, I thought with his car, I would at least find narcotics.” Charles was offended and was about to say something when he took a better look at his host.

A younger lady, at first with brown hair, but caught in better light, he could see it was auburn along with a pair of green eyes. “It would all be the same regardless.” She had her focus on Jester and not him and did not see him appraising her. “I guess one night couldn’t hurt.” Based on her bank account, it would definitely not hurt. She finally did turn her attention on him, and he quickly pretended he had not been looking at her. “I don’t suppose you are paying with cash?”

Cash? Who carries cash these days? “All I have are my bank cards.”

“Of course.” She looked at Jester and shook her head.

“I think he’s good for it Esther. If not, I will have the department put it on my account to reimburse you.” Jester gave her a wink. “Sometimes, it’s good to be in certain positions of authority.” She rolled her eyes, knowing Jester was married to the bank manager in Maggie Valley. His radio went off. “Well, I’ll leave you to it. Duty calls.”

“Is there an ATM in town?” Charles asked as Jester shut the door.

“No,” Esther answered and looked at him again, “and the cell tower is out from the storm so no internet right now.” Charles frowned as he looked at her opened laptop.

“I’m working on my capstone project.”

“Bachelor’s?”

“No, Master’s.”

“You seem young to be earning a master’s degree.”

“Why thank you for not calling me old. It is my second master’s degree. I got my bachelor’s degree accelerated while I was in the military.”

“You were in the service?”

“Yes, just four years. I took classes at lunch and at night.”

“Impressive.” 

She shrugged her shoulders. “Didn’t really care to work at McDonald’s when I got out.”

“And now?”

“Laid off due to current economic situation.” She frowned. She had not really wanted to talk about her current status. “There is only one room available.” She pointed to the French doors behind her. If she was going to have a house guest, she was going to make sure she was going to get the most money for it. There was no point of her saving it anyway. Let the past die. He seemed to be afraid to go in, so she opened the door for him.

Charles looked at the room in all astonishment. The outside of the property did not give off the impression of such a luxurious room would exist within the walls of the house. “Other guests?” He assumed if this was a bed and breakfast, she was bound to have other guests in the house.

“No, with all the festivals being cancelled of late, there aren’t many tourists venturing out this far. Most tourists go to Maggie Valley or Cherokee during this time of the year. Only when they get booked up, do they refer them here. Betty Sue has more rooms and a cabin, so she usually gets the business first.” She looked around and realized he did not bring a bag. “How did you end up here again?”

“A series of unfortunate events. I don’t suppose the kitchen is open?”

She looked at her watch. “I don’t suppose you know how to fix your own dinner?” He looked to say something smart but held his tongue. “There’s not much here, I wasn’t expecting company.”

“I’m really not picky at this point.” 

Esther went into the kitchen. “Looks like honey ham and swiss on honey wheat. Toasted or not?”

“Toasted.”

“Chips or yogurt?”

“Definitely chips. Beer?”

She laughed. “Root beer or orange cream soda?”

“No alcohol at all?”

“No, long story.”

He looked around and saw she was drinking the orange cream. “Orange.”

“You can sit at the table or the couch. I think Die Hard is coming on next.”

“Die Hard?”

“Yeah, Bruce Willis. Please tell me you do watch television.”

“Not much, but yes, I know who Bruce is.” He watched her move effortlessly in the kitchen. “I just didn’t take you as an action movie enthusiast.”

“Oh, sometimes, but definitely this week. I might even watch some horror flicks this weekend.”

“Bad week?”

“Something like that.” He watched as some emotion played over her facial features. “I don’t remember seeing a bag when Jester dropped you off?”

“No,”

“More to your series of unfortunate events?” Charles nodded yes. “I think my brother has some things still in his room. Down the hall, door on the right.” Charles was not sure he wanted to go snooping through the house. “He doesn’t live here anymore. Moved out a few years ago but left his stuff. No worries, he won’t even know you borrowed anything.”

Charles looked at the photos on the walls as he walked down the hallway. Pictures from oversea travels obviously, and well taken. He opened the door and turned on the light. It looked like a typically college kid dorm room. Pictures of a well looking blonde man with lots of different women. Apparently, living large based on the photos. He grabbed a pair of sweatpants and a shirt. At least, they were in similar size.

He took the clothes back to his room and changed in the bathroom. If he was astonished at the bedroom, he was even more so with the bathroom. He wondered why the room was decorated as such. Coming back out, Esther had to do a double look as he seemed just as good looking in Edward’s old clothes as he had been when he arrived. She quickly turned away before he caught her looking at him to retrieve his soda. She set the plate and drink on the table before returning to the oversized armchair, a favorite of her mother’s   
before she went to the nursing home.

Putting the lap top back on her lap, she was acutely aware of the man sitting at the dining room table. She did not actually plan on operating the business herself. It was just supposed to be additional income once she landed a job. She was not sure what to do.

Charles decided for her. He brought his food over and sat it on the coffee table and sat on the couch.

“What’s your capstone topic?”

“Space.”

“Space?”

“Yeah,” she turned the laptop so he could see it was blank. “And a lot of it.” She looked at her watch. There was no point in trying to start tonight. She closed the top and just decided to watch television. “Might as well enjoy Bruce.” She took a drink of her soda. “There is always tomorrow.”

They watched the movie in general silence, although she felt him looking at her at times. Probably trying to see if I am still awake. Esther was silently glad her room had a lock on it. Even with Jester running his ID, she had no idea who this guy really was. The movie over, she got up and took her empty bottle to the kitchen to place in the recycle bin. Charles had gotten up after her and brought his dish in the kitchen. Esther figured he would have left it for her to do.

“I don’t suppose a wakeup call is possible.”

She looked at him. “Sound sleeper?”

“Yes, and busy day tomorrow. Six?”

“Six? You are crazy, Mr. Babington.”

“Charles.”

“Well Charles,” she looked at him, “you are still crazy if you think I’m getting up that early on my Saturday. Besides, Louie’s repair shop will not be open until at least 9.

“What about the local bank?”

Esther laughed. “There is no bank here in town and the one in Maggie Valley isn’t open on Saturday.”

“They are in the city.”

“Welcome to nowhere. Where there is no internet service, no cell phone service and people don’t start work before 9.”

“Fine. 8 it is.” She found him smiling at her. “I don’t suppose there is complimentary breakfast?”

Esther squinted her eyes at him. “Sorry, I ate the chicken last week. You will need to go to see Mary Lou.”

“Mary Lou?”

“Yes, she owns the local café. She’ll probably be inclined to feed you something although she may barter you for it.”

“Barter?”

Esther shrugged her shoulders. “Don’t worry, I’m sure she will take it easy on you. The last guy that asked for a free breakfast ended up having to replace her door, but she didn’t care for his looks.”

Charles looked a little surprised at her, “So you find me attractive?”

“Calm down, I said Mary Lou.” Esther rolled her eyes. “I prefer cash or card.” Esther turned her attention to the junk drawer to find a new travel toothbrush still in its package with toothpaste. Just another reminder to get rid of about a trip that had turned her life upside down. She handed it to him. “There are towels in the bathroom. I think you will be able to survive the night.”


	2. Breakfast at Mary Lou's

Realizing he really did not have any other reason to stay, he bid her good night and went to take a shower, although he mused to himself, he left the bathroom door ajar just in case she was interested. 

Charles found Esther interesting, much like the house. He had expected his host to be an older couple. Finding a young woman and an attractive one at that, he was more intrigued when to find out she was a grad student. He looked at himself in the mirror as he brushed his teeth. By now, woman would be throwing themselves at him. She seemed disinterested. A feeling he was not accustomed to. He washed his face. He found himself frowning in the mirror. Had he lost his touch after all this time?

It had been a while. Good lord, when he thought about the last time, he had a woman in his bed. Crowe would be rolling on the floor if he knew. It was before Sidney had convinced Crowe and him to take a summer holiday to Myrtle Beach, where Sidney’s family ran an amusement park near the pier. Sidney also found himself in quite the situation when he met his brother’s charming house guest, Charlotte. Charlotte was an intern for the family and was staying at their beach house with them. Charles laughed as he remembered how many times Sidney complained that Charlotte was always giving him the stink eye. He had not heard from Sidney recently, but Charles was sure Sidney had planned on asking her to marry him during the fourth of July holiday. Charles rolled his eyes. Sidney was turning into an old romantic. Over a year. What was becoming of him?

Esther finished loading the dishwasher and went to her room. She was flustered especially when he directly asked her if she thought him attractive. Another reason why she was not inclined to run a bed and breakfast. She did not want to find herself in any situations like this. She heard the shower running in the other bathroom. She took a deep breath and found herself wondering what he looked like with all that water dripping down his body.

Stop this. Her inner woman was crying out to be let out. It had been a long time. She got up and locked her door. Peter was not even a good lover. Whatever did she see in him? Of course, there was one here or there afterwards, but only after Edward had taken her to the bar where he knew the bartender would not water down the drinks. After the last one, which was clearly just a one-night stand, she was more frustrated than had she been untouched. She flushed at that memory. That one knew how to please a woman. And he did, and quickly left afterwards with no strings attached. She could not find him again if she even wanted to.

Esther stretched out feeling, well relaxed after her own shower. She got up and put her pajamas on. She turned off the radio. Worn out, she set her alarm clock for 7. She needed one Charles Babington out of her house before she actual let the man in her bed for real.

Charles dried off quickly and pulled the sweatpants back on. He felt good. He was awake for the time being. Curious, he took more interest in his room while he turned on the television for some noise. The room was well laid out and decorated. Looking closely at the framed photos on the wall, he realized they were taken by a company, Denham Photography studio. They were all well taken, he could not find a problem with one. Looking in the drawers, which should be empty, he was surprised when he found a photo in the bottom of the last drawer.

It was Esther but with another guy standing in front of the Eifel tower. The guy did not really seem to be looking at her but at something else. Esther was obviously looking at the guy. He turned the photo over. France dated last summer, also with the stamp Denham Studio. Charles wondered if this had anything to do with her bad week.

Morning came quick, she mused, much like her wild dream. She could feel her inner self huff and puff. She looked at herself in the mirror. Much better than what she looked like last night with her hair in a messy bun and her sweatpants. She was not going to overdress by any imagination, but she was going to look at least presentable. Besides, she would have to drive him to Louie’s, and she frowned thinking about it. She hoped Peter was not working today.  
She knocked on the door and called out to Charles until he responded. He seemed to wake easy.

Charles found that he had slept lightly, probably as he reflected, in hope she would come to his room. His ears listened for any cracking of floorboards throughout the night before he finally drifted off into slumber. True to his nature, he found himself in an embarrassing state of arousal. He quickly thought of something unpleasant and was relieved to find his body to calm down enough he could step out of the room.

He saw her unloading the dishwasher and reaching up to put the dishes in the cabinets above her head. She had on a flowery white tank top with thin straps and a pair of dark blue jeans that hugged her flattering figure. Her hair in a braid that flowed down her back. It complemented against the color of the flowers on her shirt. He swallowed rather hard. 

She turned to find him studying her. “Good morning Esther.” 

She frowned as she looked at him. “Morning.” Her morning had started off well until she thought about having a run in with Peter. “Sorry, good morning.”

“Something wrong already?”

She let out a sigh. “No, not really. You going to wear your suit or find something else from Edwards’ room?”

He looked down and realized he probably should wear something else. “Let me go change. Give me five.”

Esther looked at her watch. Charles came back. “That was nine minutes.”

“Put it on my bill.”

“Gladly.” She let out a light laugh. “You forget shoes?”

He looked down. How embarrassing.

“Do you have someone that gets you dressed in the morning or are you still having a series of unfortunate events?”

“I’m beginning to think it’s just part of my weekend.”

“Check the hall closet. I don’t know what Edward left but there should be something there.” He held out a pair of stilettos.

“I don’t know, what do you think? Will they match my outfit?” 

Esther flushed. “Not mine, must have been one of Edward’s girls.”

“There’s quite a few in here.”

“Well, he’s quite the ladies’ man.” He found a decent pair of running shoes that would fit.

“I think I’m presentable now. What do you say?” She looked at him. Was there anything that would not look good on him? He could be wearing a paper sack and still emulate sexual tension.

“I think Mary Lou will appreciate it.” She turned her head, but he caught the slight blush on her cheeks. “I hope you don’t mind walking. It’s not that far.” Esther spoke to him as she locked the door behind her.

“Not at all. I usually go for a morning run before work.”

“Slacking off today?”

Charles laughed. “It appears so.”

The walk was indeed not far as Charles had been trying to formulate questions to ask her as they headed to their destination. They entered a small café, The French Hen as it was called, to a pleasant room decorated highly in chickens. Charles lightly laughed.

“Not your typical choice Mr. Babington?” Esther asked him quizzingly.

He smiled at her. “No, but in my old hometown there was a similar café.” An older woman looked up from the desk excitedly.

“Esther! I did not think to see you here this week.” Charles heard her let out a light groan.

“Morning Kathryn.” Her tone was civil, but Charles could tell there was something between them. “Is Mary Lou here?”

Kathryn let out a huff. She appraised the man standing next to her. “Who,” Kathryn gave him a smile, “is your friend Esther?”

“A guest at the house, and a rather hungry one. Could you just let Mary Lou know I’m here?”

“Fine, sit where you want.” She stomped off towards the kitchen.

Charles looked at her, “problems?” as she led them to a table away from the door.

Esther shook her head. “Not for you.” He pulled out a chair for her. “I’m not staying.”

“And why not? You don’t expect me to eat by myself.”

“Oh, my goodness. Let me look at you child.” Esther found herself being hugged by the much older lady. “I feel like haven’t seen you forever. I almost thought you had gone back to France without telling me goodbye.”

Esther smiled politely at the older lady who felt very much like a mother to her. “Not yet, I still have some things to take care of.” 

Mary Lou turned her attention to Charles. “Oh, what a fine-looking young man. No wonder I haven’t seen you.”

Esther blushed. “He’s a guest at the B-N-B, not,”

Mary Lou blushed, “oh apologies, apologies!” Charles found Esther’s blush rather amusing. Apparently, he had not lost his touch. Mary Lou took his arm, “Come sit down. You look like you could use a good breakfast.” She noticed Esther still standing. “You aren’t going to make him eat by himself. Kathryn will gobble him right up.” Esther rolled her eyes. “Sit, sit. Juice?” She directed to Esther. She then turned her attention to Charles. “I suppose you want your coffee black?”

“How did you know?” He asked her.

“Looks like you didn’t sleep to well.” Mary Lou commented as she walked back to the kitchen.

Esther looked at him and realized the same thing. “Something wrong with the room?”

Charles flushed a little, “Not at all. I don’t think I have ever slept on a bed more peacefully.” He had to think of some excuse for his tiredness. “Just thinking about my meetings that are being missed due to my unfortunate adventure yesterday.”

“I’m sure Louie can get you all fixed up.” Esther commented and looked out the window. Charles looked around the room and found Kathryn was indeed watching him.

“It does appear I am being watched.” Esther looked at him and then over to where he was gazing.

“Ah, yes. Kathryn.”

“Is there an explanation? I mean I’m used to getting stared at, but this seems a little different.”

Esther raised her eyebrow at him. “Used to being noticed Mr. Babington?” she let out a chuckle.

“Charles.” Esther wanted to keep his name formal. It was not like there was any point to being on a first name basis.

“Fine, Charles.” She looked back at Kathryn. “She is Peter’s stepmother.”

“And who is Peter?”

She let out a deep breath. “An old boyfriend.” 

Mary Lou was back. “And what would you like to eat?” she asked Charles before leaving again.

“How come she didn’t ask you?”

“I usually get the same thing. I’m rather dull in the morning.”

“Let me guess. Cereal? Raisin brand.”

“Wrong.”

“Yogurt and fruit.”

“You are really terrible at this.”

“Wait, a crepe?”

“Well, you are in the French Hen.” He laughed.

“So, you’ve been to France?”

“Yes, last year during my internship through some of the different art museums through England, France, Italy and Spain.”

“Sounds exciting.”

“There were definitely good times.”

“Plan on going back?”

Esther shrugged her shoulders. “Probably not anytime soon.”

“Why not?”

“Do you always ask so many questions?”

Charles laughed. “Sorry, business habit.”

“What kind of business?”

“Mergers and acquisitions in real estate and businesses.”

“Sounds,”

“Boring, I know, but I do actually enjoy it.” Charles smiled at her while Mary Lou set plates in front of them. “So, back to my question.”

“I’m watching over a relative right now, my uncle. Seems rather healthy but he has no other family around so it’s just me.”

“He lives in this town?”

“No, Maggie Valley, not too far from here.” They ate slowly as Charles seemed to be interested in asking so many questions. 

Kathryn walked back over after studying them. Esther turned to look at her. “I suppose you have heard the news?” Esther leaned back against the chair bracing herself for the conversation. Charles observed Esther and knew he had to do something.

He reached over the table and took Esther’s hand. “I really don’t think we care Kathryn.” He spoke to her, “Does it darling?” Kathryn looked at him, back at Esther, and then at the way he was holding her hand. “I mean I should be thanking him for being such a stupid man to let my Esther go.” Kathryn gave Esther a dirty look and stormed out the front door.

Esther withdrew her hand. “Are you crazy?” is what she said internally at him. Before she could say something out loud, Mary Lou came back over.

“Good grief. I have no idea why that lady is so hateful. Esther are you okay dear?” Esther looked at the lady.

“Fine, excuse me for a minute will you.” Esther got up and went to the rest room. Mary Lou sat down across from Charles.

“That poor, poor girl. I wish Kathryn would just leave her alone.” She smiled at Charles. “Thank you. I know Esther will probably not be happy, but it was good someone put that awful lady in her place.”

“Why does Kathryn want to make her upset?”

“Because Esther called off the engagement.”

“Engagement?”

“Yes, to Peter. A horrible time. He had run off to France on Valentine’s day and married some other girl from another town. Two peas in a pod if you ask me. The girl thought he had money, but it was actually Esther’s money. He came back and told her he would get the marriage annulled but it was enough for her to realize what a horrible man he was. Kathryn knew Esther had an inheritance coming after her mother died and she wanted Peter to get the money. Always about money.”

“Her mother died?”

“Yes, just a few months ago. It has been a trying year for the girl. It’s no wonder she’s having a hard time functioning.”

“She did mention something about an uncle in Maggie Valley.”

Mary Lou laughed. “Yes, Uncle Jack. A world war II vet. He has all sorts of stories. His sister was her mother. He had no children of his own. He signed the house you are staying at over to her so she would always have a place to live. It made her brother quite angry as he thought he would receive it as well. Another tragedy in the making.”

Mary Lou stood up.

“Mary Lou,” Charles spoke to her, “Esther says I need to barter with you for our meal.”

Mary Lou laughed as she patted his arm. “On the house dear. The entertainment was good enough.” Mary Lou caught Esther walking back towards the table and stopped her and spoke quietly. “I do believe I like him.” Charles found Esther looking at him before she turned her attention back to Mary Lou.

“Yeah, well, he’s just a guest so I would not expect to see him again.” Esther spoke lightly back to her.

Charles stood up. “I suppose you are ready?”

“Yep, I think I’m done. I see you’ve already bartered with Mary Lou.”

He smiled at her. “Easy as pie.” She rolled her eyes as they walked out the door. As they made it back to the house, a black jeep drove up and honked its horn.

Esther turned to find Edward had finally chosen to grace her with his appearance along with a young blonde and another guy in the back. “Esther! I thought to tempt you to join us. We are heading to the lake.”

“Busy.” Edward studied Charles and got out of the jeep.

He took her aside and spoke quietly, but Charles could still hear him. “Really, with this stiff? I thought you like a man who got his hands dirty.”

Esther rolled her eyes. Can today get any more embarrassing? “He is a guest, and I am busy. It seems you have forgotten Uncle Jack’s birthday.”

“That is today?”

“Yes.”

“Well, maybe I will stop on the way back from the lake. Clara has been dying to meet the family.” Esther looked at the lady in the front seat. “I’ll come back. Have some beer in the fridge will ya?” He laughed as he climbed back in the jeep and drove off.

Esther let out a sigh. “Sorry, Edward just says whatever he wants.” She unlocked the door. “I got to go get the truck out.” Charles walked back into the house. He went back to his room. This morning had been quite entertaining. He looked at his suit then back at the photos on the wall. One more day could not hurt. He was only slightly behind schedule.


	3. Louie's Garage

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, if you are like me, you need updates more than once a week. I am going to try to post more often.

Esther pulled out the old truck. Charles would probably die from having to ride in the old truck, but Esther mused, he would probably chalk it up to another unfortunate event for his weekend.

“What is this?”

“A classic, a 52 Chevy.”

“Yes, but is it safe?”

Esther laughed. “Well, I haven’t hit anything in it yet. It has all been restored mechanically. It just needs a little body work and some paint, and he will be all new again.”

“He?”

“Of course. Goliath. Not afraid to be seen with him, are you?”

Charles laughed. “No, not at all.” Esther loaded a few things in the back of the truck. “What is that for?”

“I just figured you’ll be all set to leave after we get your car fixed. I have got to head to Maggie Valley to see Uncle Jack for his birthday. No sense in making an extra trip home.” 

He wondered how to approach staying another night. She caught his frown. “You are leaving, today aren’t you?”

“Jester said I may have damaged my rim. I thought it best to see what the mechanic says before deciding.”

“Well, then I guess we should head that way.” They climbed in the truck and away they went.

The silence was deafening. “I’m sorry about the café.” Charles had thought about it on the way back as they walked. “It’s just, well, I could tell she was trying to upset you.”

Esther looked ahead and swallowed. “Oh, she was. She knows exactly how to get under my skin. I wish Mary Lou would get rid of her, but since the work pool is limited, it’s hard to find anyone else that would take her place.”

“Mary Lou seems concerned for you.”

Esther smiled at him. “Yes, she was my mother’s best friend from elementary school to high school. She’s an absolute doll.”

“She mentioned your mother passed. I’m sorry.”

“Well,” Esther let out a huff, “seems like you are just learning all sorts of things about me today.” Charles laughed.

“Perhaps, I should let you ask me some questions in all fairness.”

She shrugged her shoulders but humored him anyway. “Alright, favorite movie, author and band?”

“Gee, here I thought you were going to ask me why I don’t carry cash.”

“Not really. Most people do not. The world revolves around plastic anymore. Now, are you going to answer the question?”

“Let’s see, don’t laugh at my answers though.”

She glanced over at him. “No promises but I will try to remain judgmental free.”

“Star Wars.”

“Which one?”

“Four through Six, please 1-3 were just horrid.”

“I can mostly agree with that. “

“What a relief.” Esther smiled but remained looking forward.

“I don’t have much time to read anything other than business journals and newspapers. Does that count?”

“Oh, the Wall Street Journal is highly educational but doesn’t qualify. I guess I will give you a pass for now. Music?”

“Well, that’s a bit trickier. I’m afraid I like a lot of different artists; it would be hard to narrow it down but I’m partial to anything in the 80s.”

“How about you?”

“Oh, I listen to just about everything. My father liked country, my mother gospel and heaven forbid, Lawrence Welk. Edward listened to rock and my first duty station had me listening to rap, blues, orchestral and pop. After a while, you just assimilate.”

“Are you a borg?”

Esther laughed. “I do like Star Trek but I’m afraid I like Star Wars just a little bit more.”

“Authors?”

“Depends on my mood I’m afraid. I like quite a variety there as well.” Charles found himself smiling. It seemed they had quite a few things in common.

Esther pulled into Louie’s and hid her expression. He was not driving a standard Chevy or Ford. It was an expensive BMW. No wonder he showed up in a suit. “I see mergers and acquisitions must pay very well.”

Charles was slightly embarrassed. “It’s a business car. It belongs to the company.”

“And here I thought I should have charged you double for your room.” Charles laughed and relaxed. It was a good cover story. Esther looked at the other cars in the parking lot. She did not see Peter’s jalopy in the lot. Maybe today was going to get better.

They walked in and Louie greeted her enthusiastically. “Esther! How are you?”

“I’m good Louie.”

“Don’t tell me Goliath is giving you trouble.”

“No, not at all.” She pointed to Charles. “He needs a little help though.”

“Ah, Mr. BMW. You are in the right spot for help. Jester had the tow company bring your car by this morning. You have busted the rim and will need a whole new tire.”

“Can you fix it?”

Louie let out a sigh. “I can, but I would have to order parts. I would need to send a runner. “He looked at his watch. “Probably could get him to run on Monday to get the part.”

“Monday?” Charles asked. “I need to be in Asheville Monday for a meeting.”

“Sorry, we don’t get many foreign cars here. Now, if you had a Ford or Chevy, that I could probably do today. You could get it towed there, but it would be outrageous. You could also rent a car in Pigeon Forge.”

“How far is Pigeon Forge?”

“About an hour and a half from Maggie Valley.” Louie answered.

Charles looked at Esther. “Could you take me there after you see Uncle Jack? I could pick up my own car after my meetings next week.” A good reason to make another trip back.

She shrugged her shoulders not wanting to show preference. Internally, she was a mess. He seemed reluctant to stay out of her life. “Your call.” 

Charles hesitated but planned with Louie while Esther stood outside next to her truck. Louie looked at him and laughed. “A prize easily earned has no real worth.” Charles looked at him perplexed. “Miss Denham.”

“Denham? As in Denham Photography Studio?”

“Yes, a hobby of hers. Has some photos in a gallery in Maggie Valley. She stopped when her mom got really bad. Has not picked up the camera since. Charles looked out the window as their business transaction was completed. An old car drove up and pulled in next to her. “Oh, that’s bad news there.” 

“Who is that?” A young man about Esther’s age exited the car and headed towards her.

“Peter. Dumb kid. I need to get out there.” Louie walked out with Charles behind him.


	4. Uncle Jack

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you are in the area of Maggie Valley, take time to visit the Wheels Through Time Museum:
> 
> https://wheelsthroughtime.com/

Esther watched in slow motion as Peter pulled his car next to hers. Kathryn must have called him. He had a wild look about him as he got out. “I hear you got a new man.” 

Esther rolled her eyes. “I don’t think it’s any concern of yours.”

“You know I worry about you.” 

She let a laugh escape her lips. “As if.” He stepped closer.

Louie called out to him. “Peter. It is about time. You are late for your shift.”

“I told you, I had to take my wife to her doctor appointment.” He turned back to Esther but notice she was looking past him, and he turned back around to see the guy walking up behind Louie. 

He was smiling ridiculously at Esther. “All set, let’s go.”

“Gladly.” She turned away from Peter without a second glance. Peter watched the truck drive away and glared at it as it did so.

They drove down the road a bit. “Alright?” he asked quietly.

“Of course.” Esther kept her focus on the road. “I could take you to Pigeon Forge first. You don’t need to hang around.”

“Trying to get rid of me already?”

“Just figured you were ready to leave.”

He decided it was just best to be open with her. It seemed she had enough of dishonesty from people that she was close to. “I am not.” He looked out the passenger window. “I drove to break up the mundane of my life.”

“Seems like you’ve already had quite the adventure already.”

He laughed. “Well, it was a little bumpy to start but perhaps that was due to poor planning.” He looked at her. “If it’s all the same, would one more night of a paying customer be a bad thing?”

She glanced at him.

He raised an eyebrow and smiled at her, “Unless you would like to barter Miss Denham?”

She let out a little nervous laugh, “Not a chance Charles.”

He laughed, “It was worth a shot. So, on to Uncle Jack?”

“If you insist, but you better have a lot of patience. He likes to talk.” As they got closer to Maggie Valley, Esther pulled into a small gallery. “I need to make a stop here.” They got out. He held the door for her.

Mr. Gregory stood up. “Miss Denham. I am glad you got my message.”

“I did just before the internet died. What’s up?” He looked at the man behind her and frowned. “Is he with you?” She turned to see Charles was looking around. “He’s staying at the B-N-B. Charles?”

Charles walked over. “Mr. Gregory, Mr. Babington. I have got a few things to discuss but it should not take long. You mind looking around?”

“Not at all.” There was quite a selection of art, from oil to watercolors, charcoal to colored pencils and photography. Charles recognized some of the photos from his room. He noticed all for sale with a note that the artist was available for special commissioning. Well, except on the photos from Esther. Apparently, she was not taking commissions.

Mr. Gregory led her to a small conference room. “I believe the terms of the contract are getting ready to expire. You can either pull your pieces or drop the prices.”

“When will I need to pull them?”

“By Wednesday.”

Esther let out a breath. This month’s budget was going to be a little short but if next month picked up, she would be fine.

“There is another option.”

“What is that?”

“I have a new client. A Mrs. Campion who just moved into the area. She would like some nature photography from the Appalachian Trail.”

“What about Lexington’s work?”

“She wasn’t interested in his. She liked some of the stuff you did overseas.”

“Did she buy any?”

“Well, no, but like I said she’s looking for local stuff. It pays well.”

“Do you have a list of details?”

Mr. Gregory pulled out a list. “If you take it, they will need to be completed before the 4th of July.”

“That’s not much time.”

“Is the B-N-B that busy?”

She looked at him. “Well, no but the holiday is only a few weeks away. Factor in weather and some of these shots she is looking for, it could be tricky.”

“Well, take the list and think it over. I will need to know by next Friday.”

Esther took the list and thanked him. She found Charles studying an oil painting by Otis Molyneux. “Oh, a good choice to look at Mr. Babington. A new artist.”

Charles looked at Mr. Gregory. “It’s interesting but I’m not in the market for artwork at this time.”

Ever cheerful, “Well if you change your mind, please let me know. I am more than happy to assist. Would you care for a card?” Charles took the card willingly.

They got back in the truck. “Can you put this in the glovebox.” She handed him the list.

“What is it?”

“He wants me to take a commission for some photos.”

“Sounds interesting.” He looked at her. “Something wrong?”

Esther laughed. “They want them from the Appalachian Trail. I have not hiked that since I was a teenager. Something about getting eaten by bears loses its appeal as I get older.”

“I don’t think I ever been. Did you get far?”

“I’m not sure. Edward and his friends were in charge. I was just a tag along at the time. It was really just an excuse for him and his friends anyway.”

“An excuse for what?”

“A drunk fest. He was graduating high school. There was a bunch of them along with a good number of girls. He led my father to believe it was just a family bonding experience. His father had married my mother about a year before. Edward and I weren’t getting along very well.”

“So, he took you up there to get you drunk?”

Esther smiled. “Yes, imagine his surprise when I wasn’t interested. Instead of having something to hold over me, it was the other way around. It came in handy when I needed some parts for Goliath.” She patted the dashboard. “He was working for a part distributor during that summer.” She let out a breath. “Uncle Jack and his friends from the museum helped me with the motor and tranny. They worked on it while I was in basic military training. It was their gift for my graduation for those six weeks of torture followed by another 13 for my job specialty training.”

“What was your career field?”

“Finance, but don’t be misled. I was just a glorified paper pusher, but I made some good friends and I did enjoy it.”

“But you got out.”

“Yeah, I had a moment thinking I would finish my degree and go back as an officer but then my mother started getting sick. Edward’s father had died a few months before then. I just took it as a sign that I was needed at home.”

“And now, you are taking care of Uncle Jack so you can’t go back now.”

“Yeah, but I don’t know if I would want to now. Things have changed a lot from when I was in not to mention, I am not sure I want someone bossing me around. You can’t exactly just speak out loud.” She paused. “Well, you can but it’s generally frowned upon.” She let out a laugh at a memory. “One of my dear friends did just that and she got sent to the kitchen for extra duty for a month. Nothing worse than having to peel potatoes for hours on end.”

Charles got a little quiet as Goliath rolled through the town of Maggie Valley. “Seems like a nice little town.”

“It is. A little in the middle of nowhere but I enjoy it.” Goliath pulled into a private entry behind a museum. “And to our destination, the Wheels of Time Museum. Uncle Jack’s friends coordinated his birthday party here. It’s going to get a little noisy at times.”

“I don’t think I’ve heard of this museum.”

“It’s a motorcycle museum. They start them up every hour on their tour.”

“You are full of surprises Esther.”

“Well, better here than in the nursing home. Those places sometimes lack a lot of cheer, especially when one is trying to celebrate another year of living.” Esther led Charles into a private entrance.

A group of cheers went up as she walked in. “Esther!” her name being called out by several older men.

“I see you have a group of admirers.”

“Yes, all old men in their prime looking to relive their younger days. Although,” she had a teasing look about her, “having a sugar daddy does have its merits, especially if he’s elderly and in poor health.” Charles pretended to be affronted. “At least, that is what my aunt, Molly Denham, would say.”

“So, your aunt is trying to marry you off.”

“A favorite past time of hers, although, technically, she is Edward’s aunt more than mine. She just likes me better and it irritates him.”

“I think I should like to meet this aunt.”

Esther laughed. “Well, unless you are planning on a trip to Gatlinburg, then probably not.”

“Isn’t Gatlinburg close to Pigeon Forge?”

“Yes, technically, but she is in Asheville for some meeting with investors at the Biltmore Estate next week.” Charles stopped walking. “Something wrong?”

“No, no, you mentioned meetings and I realized I probably should be charging my phone. I have probably missed quite a few phone calls. I don’t suppose you have a charger for an iPhone?”

Esther laughed. “Sorry, I’m an android user. I tend to revolt against the popularity of the day. One of the guys here probably can help. Let me ask.” Charles watched as Esther spoke to a variety of men in the museum until she came back carrying a cord. “They say it should fit the newest iPhone.”

“Perfect.”

“You should be able to plug it in there.” Esther pointed over to a private room that had been reserved for Uncle Jack. Charles walked in and found the room pleasantly decorated for a birthday party for a hero. The theme all in red, white and blue. Charles quickly plugged in the phone and went to look for her.

He found her in the middle of a conversation with a man similar in age of him. So much for only old men vying for Esther. “We were thinking of updating some photos for the museum and it’s Facebook page. Roger wanted to know if maybe you would be interested in doing that.”

“Well, since Roger was so helpful with Goliath, it would only be fair for me to return the favor. I should be able to come up this week.”

“Good, maybe Wednesday and Thursday. The museum usually isn’t as busy on those days and we are expecting a new delivery on Tuesday.” Charles found the man observing him. 

“Who is this?” Obviously, the man is interested in Esther by the tone of his voice.

“This is Charles. Charles, Tim. Tim coordinates the staff and volunteers here.” Charles reached out to offer Tim his hand. A rather weak handshake Charles mused. “He’s just passing through.”

“Not from the area then?”

Definitely chasing Esther, Charles mused. “No, I’m actually passing through to Asheville for business. I’m usually in Wilmington.”

Tim regarded Charles. “Home of the Azalea Festival.”

“Yes, have you been?”

“Just a time or two.”

“Airlie Gardens is absolutely beautiful is it not?” Charles was trying to see what kind of things interested Tim and whether had something he thought Esther would be interested in.

“Didn’t really have time to visit.” Tim replied dully.

“I think I may have gone when I was in high school but haven’t been back. Isn’t the festival in April?” Esther added to the conversation between them.

Charles looked at Esther. “It is. I would imagine someone with interest in photography would find the gardens interesting.” Esther mused, most likely, but not likely with her current work situation.

Before she could think of a good reply, Uncle Jack had entered the room and demanded her attention. “Esther Denham! Report!” Esther let out a laugh as she turned to face him.

“Well, Charles,” focusing back on him, “it seems Uncle Jack is pretty lively today. I hope you are ready.” She took his hand to led him over. She snapped to attention in front of Uncle Jack. “Esther Denham, reporting for duty sir!” 

Uncle Jack let out a laugh as he hugged her. “And who is this soldier?”

Esther laughed. “Just a civilian. Not used to regulations, sir!” Charles smiled at the older man. He could tell the man was a jovial kind of man and was having fun at Esther’s expense. “Charles Babington, meet Jack Eling, also known as Captain Eling, retired.”

Charles shook his hand, “nice to meet you Captain or can I call you Jack?”

“Well, I judge a man by his handshake and yours seems to imply fairness and trustworthiness. I think I will let you address me as Jack for now.” Jack looked between the two and decided to have a little mischief. “Unless there is something Esther isn’t telling me.”

“Uncle Jack!” Esther said quickly. The older man laughed. “Charles is just passing through to Asheville for some business meetings and had some mechanical issues.”

Charles found Uncle Jack looking at him. “What kind? Perhaps Roger and Tim could help.”

Charles laughed. “Oh, the kind that involve a tank of gas, a new rim and tire.”

“Louie is fixing it.” Esther chimed in.

“I hope not Peter otherwise he will be needing more than that.” Jack said out loud. Esther frowned. She had not thought about the possibility of Peter sabotaging Charles’ car. Charles saw Esther’s expression.

“I guess Uncle Jack you can entertain Charles while I go set some stuff up?”

“Charles Babington, report!” Uncle Jack said quickly with humor to which Charles just laughed. The pair of them sat down at a nearby table. Esther went to make a phone call to Louie before helping set out the food and cake for the birthday boy.


	5. A Dose of Advice

Esther quickly pulled out her cell phone and made a call. “Louie?” Esther waited for a reply. “You aren’t going to have Peter work on Charles’ car, are you?”

“No, Peter left not too long ago. I believe he will be out next week. His wife is wanting to go to Charlotte to see her family before the baby gets too much further.” 

Esther about dropped the phone. “Baby?” she whispered to Louie.

“Sorry kiddo. I thought you knew.”

Esther felt herself become two halves. “When?” she paused not wanting to ask and wanting to know. “When is she due?”

“I think September.” There was a long paused. “Esther?”

Esther took a deep breath as she did the math in her head. He had been cheating on her long before Valentine’s Day. It made her quite ill to think she had not even noticed.

“Esther?” Louie spoke again.

Forcing herself to return to the conversation at hand. “Sorry, thanks Louie.” 

Tim walked in. “Something wrong Esther? You aren’t looking so well.” Esther looked at Tim. Tim who had been her friend in high school, had written to her while she was away for basic training and her follow-on training, and her duty station. He was a good looking fellow. A native from Saint Lucia, his parents had moved into the area when they retired wanting a break from island living. “You need a drink.” Of course, he was referring to something a little stronger than the glass of punch that was available. He pulled out a chair for her. “What’s the matter?”

She looked at him as she took the punch. “Did you know Peter’s wife is pregnant?” 

“No,” he spoke honestly with her. “But honestly, I did try to tell you that guy was a dirtbag.” Of course, he told her every day she saw him and when she did not, he reminded her either by text or email. It got to the point, when she thought things were good with Peter that she had to tell him to either not discuss Peter or they could not be friends. She had not heard from him for a while, until he had heard about the Valentine day fiasco, then he had stopped by out of the blue. Even still, she knew he hoped for more than just friends. Heck, he would have settled for friends with benefit status and for a moment, she almost had given in, until she thought the whole process through and knew he would not be happy with that minimal arrangement. He was looking for a wife. He had told her that much when her mother had died. He was tired of online dating, blind dating and any other type of dating.

Esther finished her punch in one large gulp. “Yep, and I’m sorry I didn’t realize how perceptive you were. Forgive me.”

Tim’s eyes lit up as he took her hand. “Think nothing of it. Now, how are you doing? I mean, really doing and don’t say fine.”

Uncle Jack found Charles a lively character. “So, a businessman hun? Acquisitions and mergers. Quite a busy kind of guy from my knowledge of it.”

“Yes, very busy.”

“It would explain why you are still single.” Charles had only been half listening to the conversation as his attention had slightly got distracted when he noticed Tim handing Esther a   
glass of punch.

“I’m sorry what?”

Uncle Jack laughed. “Single?”

Charles laughed as he returned his attention to the older man. “Yes.”

“Well, you seem like a rather nice young man. You aren’t some sort of craig’s list killer, are you?”

Again, Charles laughed at him. “No, just remarkably busy. I took over my father’s responsibilities a few years ago. My sister is still working to learn most of the ropes, then I will be able to share some of those and get some free time for myself.”

“That could take some time.” Uncle Jack spoke out loud as if he were stewing over something.

“Yes, although she is a fast learner.” Uncle Jack look over at Tim and Esther and frowned. Charles caught the man’s look and looked over to find Tim holding Esther’s hand.

“Well that isn’t taking any time at all.” Charles knew he meant Tim. Uncle Jack decided to figure out if the young man was interested in his niece. “Not that he’s a bad fellow. Rather steady and has a decent head on his shoulders. Been friends for some time. She could use someone like that to make her happy.”

“Really? Didn’t seemed to care about her interests.”

“Photography, no. But they still seem to get along well enough.” 

Charles could not help but look at the pair as Tim got up to help her set up. He caught Esther laughing at something Tim had said and felt something within him. Uncle Jack implied there was a potential relationship there. If they had been friends for some time, and now knowing she was available, could Tim be hoping to step in where Peter had left off? To be truthful, he was not sure he was looking for something long term. Heck, he had just met her last night. The evening went well enough, but one night was not something to base anything on. 

Sidney of course, after he really admitted it, had fallen for Charlotte rather quickly. He would have married Charlotte last year if it had not been Sidney’s stupid mistake of meeting Eliza at the retirement party for Charles’ father. Sidney and Charlotte had not made anything formal declarations and in fact, that had been the weekend when Sidney was so mad at Charlotte for interfering with Georgianna’s own love life that he had spent the weekend with Charles and Crowe. Charles never asked if anything happened while Eliza and he had stepped out when the party was over. He just knew on that Monday morning, Sidney told him over breakfast that he was over the moon for Charlotte. Whatever had happened though, Charlotte was not quite the same and Sidney had spent the year rebuilding a relationship with her.

Crowe could not be counted on any type of relationship advice. The man fell in and out of love as much and as often as he could. Broken hearts and dreams did not really seem to bother him one way or the other. He was content. Augusta, his sister, well, she was just as bad as Crowe although her relationships did last longer than Crowe’s.

Charles examined his own parents’ relationship. They had married as high school sweethearts. Their 60-year anniversary was approaching in the fall. Truth be told, they had a solid relationship. He could only hope to be that lucky if he were ever to get married himself.

“Well, I’m no expert but I would wager a good marriage is based on mutual love and affection.” Charles said absently out loud to Jack.

Jack laughed. “Oh, yes. However, I find that a marriage should have also a spark of passion.” He mused to himself. “Mutual love and affection are good for the dull and trying times of a marriage but passion,” Jack sighed and laughed, “is the band-aid for hurt feelings and disappointed hopes.”

Charles looked at him. “Experience I take it?”

“Yes, my wife. Much like Esther with that hair. That woman would drive me up the wall most of the time, but I wouldn’t change a minute of it.” Uncle Jack gave him a wink. “In fact, I started most of the fights just to rile her up.” He laughed out loud. “She rather enjoyed the after affect if you know what I mean.” Charles slightly flushed. “Unfortunately, we weren’t able to have children. That is where your mutual love and affection comes into play. We were very compatible. Although,” he leaned in close to Charles, “I am not sure I cared for her love of romantic comedies and her obsession with Jane Austen’s writings. As if men need to go around and be agreeable to everything that a woman thinks they need to be.”

“I don’t think I’ve read any Jane Austen books.”

“Well, don’t tell Esther. She’s rather partial to them.” Charles looked back and found Esther approaching.

“Is Uncle Jack talking off your ear with his war stories?”

Jack looked at Charles. “Very much so. I was just telling him about my time I had to negotiate the surrender of the battle of grit.” 

Esther shrugged her shoulders. “Well, I need to go get Roger to wrangle up the crew. I’ll be back in a few moments.”

Charles looked at Jack, “The battle of grit?”

Jack laughed. “Yes, my wife!” Charles could not help but laugh at him.

The rest of the birthday party went off well. A large group of friends had shown up to wish him a happy birthday and to attend the private tour of the museum. Charles found the museum interesting and the tour guide deeply knowledgeable. He was surprised that it had even been on television.

Esther gave Uncle Jack a hug as Roger helped him into the truck to return him back to the nursing home. Tim walked over to where Ester and Charles were standing. “Well, I guess I will see you in a few days. I will check on some stuff for the trail. Nice to meet you Charles.” Looking back over to Esther. “I will text you.”

“Bye Tim.”

“You might want to go get your phone.” Fully charged, Charles handed the cord back to Esther to return to its owner. As they got back into Goliath, Charles turned the phone back on and the notification bell rang several times as it pulled up all his missed calls and messages. “Is there a missing person alert?” Esther teased him.

Charles briefly thumbed through the text messages. “Nothing that can’t wait a bit.” He turned the volume back down. Curious to the relationship between Tim and Esther, he decided to ask some questions as she drove towards Pigeon Forge. “So, you got a date with Tim?” he asked bluntly.

Esther laughed. “I wouldn’t call work a date. I am taking some photos for the museum and he is going to help me with the photos for the trail. He spent a few summers as a volunteer on the trail and knows his way around not to mention the best places to go.” Esther observed him.

“When are you going on the trail?”

“Probably Saturday and overnight until Sunday, depending on the weather.”

“So, camping with Tim? I thought you weren’t sure you wanted to take the job.”

She shrugged her shoulders. “Tim thought it would be a good to have a change of scenery to get my mind off things.”

“Like what?”

She glanced over at him before returning her focus to the road. “Oh, the list is extensive and sad. Besides, if I do take the job, it will probably take two weeks to get all the shots I will need to get with factoring in weather and trail time. Tim knows the best routes.” She let out a laugh and he looked perplexed at her. “And I can run faster than him. I’m less likely to be dinner.” Charles let out a laugh. “Besides, I don’t want to be on the trail the whole time. I rather like my nice soft bed.”


	6. A New Hobby

She glanced over at him before returning her focus to the road. “Oh, the list is extensive and sad. Besides, if I do take the job, it will probably take two weeks to get all the shots I will need to get with factoring in weather and trail time. Tim knows the best routes.” She let out a laugh and he looked perplexed at her. “And I can run faster than him. I’m less likely to be dinner.” Charles let out a laugh. “Besides, I don’t want to be on the trail the whole time. I rather like my nice soft bed.”

Charles got a faraway look as he looked out the passenger window. “I don’t think I’ve been camping since high school.” He looked at his calendar on his phone and pondered over some things. Sidney used to go hiking. He wondered what Sidney had going on next weekend.

“So, do you have an address for this rental company or am I to just drive around until you find one?”

Charles laughed. “No, I made the arrangements.” He mentioned the road that she needed to go to and as she was familiar with the area, she pulled up to the agency quickly.

“I’ll be next door. I’ve got something I need to check on.” Esther pointed to a cabin rental company next to the rental car agency. She was back out as Charles was walking out. 

“All good?”

Charles frowned as he stood in front of the car available.

“Let me guess, no BMW. You have to drive a Chevy. Are you going to be alright or do I need to call a psychologist?”

He laughed a little. “I will survive. I guess I will live with it.”

“Living life on the edge Mr. Babington? It’s called Hakuna Matata!”

“A motto by a meerkat and warthog Miss Denham?”

“A Disney fan?”

“I’ve seen a few. My sister is about your age.”

“I think I might like her already. She like Star Wars too?”

“Sadly, no. She’s more into romantic comedies, anything with Drew Berrymore and Adam Sandler.” Charles watched her expression.

“Well, no one is perfect I guess.” He laughed. Esther looked at her watch. “I probably should pick up a few things for the trail while I’m in town.”

“I should too. You know, just in case of another car failure.” Esther let out a little laugh at his banter. “Want to meet up for dinner?” He got a little bashful at the suggestion. “I mean, you know since you don’t have much at the B-N-B.”

“Afraid you are going to starve tonight?”

Charles laughed, “Well, yes.”

“Fair enough. You want something local or are you wanting something you can get anywhere?”

Charles shrugged his shoulders. “I will defer to your judgement.”

“And here I thought you were a decisive kind of guy.” He looked at her and thought to himself, not around you apparently. “I guess we can go to Wild Bear.” She got in her glovebox and wrote down the address for it plus the address back to the B-N-B.

“Afraid I might get lost?” He teased her.

“Something like that.” She mused. “Besides, you are still running a tab.” He laughed.

“Well, I should be able to pay for dinner to at least cover the drive to pick up the rental.”

“How chivalrous of you.”

“Are you trying to insult my inner gentleman?”

Is there one, Esther mused to herself. “My apologies. I didn’t realize you were so sensitive.” She looked at her watch. “Dinner at 6?” That should give them about three hours to run around individually.

“Sounds good.” He watched her drive off towards her destination. He pulled out his phone and looked at his messages. Most could wait. He had to call Augusta to tell her he would be there tomorrow evening and then he called Sidney.

Sidney looked at his phone. It was Charles. “Babington.”

“Parker.”

“Is this a social call or business?”

“Both.”

Sidney laughed at him. “Well, this is a first. What is going on?”

“When is the last time you went hiking on the trail?”

“The Appalachian Trail?”

“Yes.”

“I went a few years ago. Don’t tell me you want to take up hiking in your spare time.”

“Been thinking about it.” There was long silent pause.

“Are you having a midlife crisis?”

Charles laughed.

“Oh, I know that tone.”

“What tone?”

“Who is she?”

“What makes you say that?”

“I don’t know. Remember that time you decided to take up surfing?”

Charles laughed. “Well, that was a long time ago.”

“I could list more hobbies you were inclined to try if you need me to.”

“Was there that many?”

“I stopped counting.” Charles frowned on the other side of the phone and was glad Sidney could not see his facial expression. “So, you want to go hiking.”

“I said I was just thinking about it.”

“And when has Charles Babington ever just thought about something? You usually are pretty decisive.” And he was, except this time. This was new territory. “Charles?” Sidney heard him let out a long breath. “Oh, she has you all flustered. I am interested in seeing what kind of lady has you all in knots.”

“I don’t know if I would go that far.”

“And just how far have you gone?” 

Charles laughed.

“She turned you down and you don’t know what to do.”

“You are perceptive.”

“Something Charlotte tells me I need to work on.”

“How is Charlotte?”

“Good.”

“Still thinking of proposing or have you changed your mind?”

“Never surer of anything in my life.”

“Would she want to go?”

“Hiking?”

“Yes, that was the point of this conversation.”

Sidney laughed. “There you are. I am sure she would like to try it. When?”

“Next weekend, Saturday-Sunday, depending on the weather.”

“Overnight?”

“Yeah, perhaps the girls could bunk up?”

“That doesn’t sound like much fun.” Charles flushed even though Sidney could not see it. “But I guess that would make you seem a little more gentlemanly.”

“Am I not?”

“Honest opinion?” Sidney laughed.

“Don’t tell me. What about Crowe? I heard he has a new girlfriend.”

“You haven’t met her?”

“No, I was supposed to go Friday night but ended up driving towards Asheville. Long story but got detoured.”

“And that is where you met her?”

“Yes, she owns a B-N-B.”

“Well, I can ask and let you know. Send me the details when you get them worked out.”

“Alright. Bye.” Charles hung up the phone. A little trek with Esther and his friends. Will not that upset the applecart with Tim. Now, just how to persuade Esther. He looked up directions for some stores and went shopping.


	7. A Dinner Date

Charles listened as the GPS directed him to his dinner location. He looked around and found Goliath already in the parking lot. It had gathered a few on lookers as Esther was standing next to an older couple discussing the truck. The hood was up. He looked at his watch. He was early and he let out a relaxed breath. He did not like being late.

The older couple turned to him as he approached. “Well, thank you sweetie. My husband loves old trucks.”

“Anytime.” Esther put the hood back down. “Ready to eat?”

“Famished.” He held the door open for her as they walked in. The hostess gave him a look over as she led them to a table.

“If there is anything you need,” she looked at him.

However, he was looking at Esther who was trying to keep her face neutral. “I’m fine, thank you.”

Esther heard her mutter as she walked away, “yes you are.” Esther let out a light laugh.

“Is something funny? Or are you envious?” Charles felt a little bold after their conversation about Tim.

She studied him thinking of an appropriate response. She focused back on the menu. “I was just musing that you seem to attract quite a variety of reactions from the ladies. First, there was Kathryn, then Mary Lou and one of the ladies at the museum even said something.” 

“Oh, I missed that. Should I go back to the museum?” He wondered what she thought of him.

Esther shrugged her shoulders. “I guess it would depend on your taste in women.”

The waitress came over and interrupted the conversation. “Esther, I didn’t know you were going to be in town.”

Esther looked at the waitress, Clara, as she stood there looking from her to Charles. “New beau?” 

Esther flushed but laughed. “A guest at the B-N-B, Charles. Charles, this is one of my fellow college mates, Clara Brereton.” Esther looked at Clara. “I thought you were heading to Charlotte after graduation.”

Clara let out a breath. “I was but my internship fell through. I am here for the rest of the summer anyway. What about you?”

“Still finishing my capstone.”

“You aren’t done?”

“No, I haven’t even started.”

“Well, Dr. Evers did always like you. He’d probably give you an ‘A’ if you just winked at him.” 

Esther rolled her eyes. “Doubtful, but if I don’t start soon, maybe I’ll try that.”

“You want the usual?”

“Yeah.”

Clara looked at Charles, “For you?” Charles looked between the young ladies.

“Surprise me.” 

Clara smiled at him and then winked at Esther. “Gladly.” Esther rolled her eyes after she walked away. 

“You aren’t jealous, are you?” He tried again.

Esther raised her eyebrow. “Clara will flirt with anyone if it will get her more tips.” Esther frowned and looked at him. “Actually, Clara will do just about anything if you really must know. Edward would probably not be happy with you though.” Charles gave her a perplex look. “Clara is his fiancé.”

“But he had some other girl in his jeep this morning.”

Esther raised an all-knowing eyebrow. “He usually does. A different girl in every town. Let us just say they have a very open relationship, well at least according to him. I am not sure how Clara feels about it. I may have tried to mention something to her before, but she brushed me off, so I dropped it.”

Charles frowned at her. Was every guy that Esther knew the same type? More importantly, did Esther think every guy was the same? Even he did not date more than one woman at a time. He did not have enough free time to do so.

Clara was back delivering drinks and salads. “I brought a few dressings since I wasn’t quite sure. I brought you a player’s punch as well.” Clara gave him a wink. “On the house.” 

She noticed a group of young men at her other table. “I’ll be back to check on you.”

Charles looked at Esther. “Your pheromones must be on overdrive with all the attention today.” Charles smiled but he slightly blushed as well.

“You seem very coy about it.”

Esther shrugged her shoulders and put a neutral face on. “You are a guest. I don’t mix business with my personal life.”

“Ah, afraid I might beat you out of your money Miss Denham?” He raised an eyebrow at her.

“Not really. You forgot Jester ran your ID yesterday. A simple call and a warrant can get issued.” She held back her laughter as it apparently Charles was slightly affronted.

“That would be an abuse of power.”

Esther let out a breath. “Ah, but you forget. Small town living. Jester is a cousin, albeit I will grant you, a distant cousin, but still can be persuaded to do a few things rather easy.”

“I’ll have to remember that.”

Clara was back over. “I thought Edward was going to come by today. Did you see him?” Esther looked at her.

“He went to the lake with some friends this morning. He acted like he would be by later although he won’t be too happy as there is no beer in the fridge.”

“Probably not. He got turned down at some job he was hoping to get. You know, more pay with less responsibilities. Rut was wanting to party this weekend.”

Esther rolled her eyes as Clara wandered back to the other table.

“Who is Rut?”

“Edward’s college buddy that hasn’t graduated yet. Takes about one class each semester. His parents told him they would pay for everything if he was in school. He decided to milk it all out since they never gave him a timeline. He usually spends one weekend a month throwing a frat party. He is quite well known on campus. Another ladies’ man.”

“Been to his parties?”

“Yes, just one more reason not to drink. There were so many cop cars at the one I went to it was embarrassing. Dr. Evers, my mentor, was nice enough to bail me out without calling my mother.”

“I didn’t take you as a party girl.”

“It was in my during my phase of getting to know Edward. I went from being an only child to having an older brother.”

“Before or after your camping trip?”

Esther had to think about that. “Before I think.”

“So underage drinking?”

“Not really. I was just lumped in with the crowd.”

“So, Dr. Evers bailed you out? You must have been quite young.”

“I was. I was still in high school. He was the one that I suggested I get away from Edward, which I did when I enlisted in the military. Probably the better advice I have taken although I did not apply myself to the service itself. My focus was just on getting my degree and getting out. I thought I hated it. Turned out, it was just my last supervisor I did not really care for. He thought it was my responsibility to make sure he showed up to work after his late-night parties and it reminded me of Edward. After one too many discussions with not being up to standard, I just decided to get out.” Esther frowned on the memory. “Not the military standard, just the standard he thought I was going to be like every other female enlisted below him.”

“So, Dr. Evers is a professor where?”

“He was at Fayetteville State University. He is retiring although hopefully not before I submit my capstone. Otherwise, I will be at the mercy of his replacement. I met him during my senior year in high school on a school trip. When he heard I was getting out, he recommended that I take classes there for my master’s program.”

“And you have two?”

“Well, one completed and the other I am in now. The other one was done online.”

Clara was back, bringing dinner. She was eyeing Charles again. “You want another player’s punch or something different?”

Charles thought about it. It was a little strong and he still needed to drive back. He looked over at Esther’s glass. “Whatever Esther is drinking.”

Clara raised her eyebrow at him. “Root beer?” Esther laughed. “Alright.”

Esther found Charles studying her. “So, you don’t drink,” he paused, “ever?”

Esther shrugged her shoulders. “I’m not going to say I never have but let us just say I don’t like the person I was when I did. It’s just easier not to.” Charles was not sure what the proper response was. He could at least admire her resolve and dedication to not drinking.

Clara was back and this time, she pulled up a chair. “I hope you don’t mind,” as she sat close to Charles. “I just off the phone with Edward. He says to catch a ride with you back home.”

“I take it he’s at my house.”

“They all are.”

“They?”

“Yes, Rut and his friends.” Charles looked at Esther.

Esther gave her half a smile. “Great.”

“Well, I need to go close out my tables so I can be ready whenever you are.”

Esther looked at Charles. “Looks like you might get a discount for tonight.” He laughed at her.

“Lucky me.”

“You say that now. Might want to wait until you get there before thinking that.” They finished up dinner.

Clara looked between the two. She half thought to go with Charles, but she found that he kept his focus on Esther. She mused to herself, well he was barking up the wrong tree.   
Esther had enough of men to last her quite a while. “I guess I will ride with you Esther.”

“Well, get in then.” She looked at Charles. “Still got time to change your mind about returning.”

“Trying to get rid of me?”

“Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

“Duly noted.”


	8. The Block Party

Charles plugged in the address to the GPS just in case they got separated. His phone rang through the hands-free link.

“Charles?” It was Augusta.

“Yes, what’s the matter?”

“I just saw I missed your call. How come you aren’t in Asheville yet?”

“I ran into a little car trouble. No worries. I will be there tomorrow. Do you have copies of the agreements?”

“Yes, I’ll have them placed in your room for when you get there. I met Sophia Denham today during the meet and greet. She’s going to be a problem.”

“Maybe or maybe not.”

“What do you mean?”

“I will tell you tomorrow. Anything else?”

“No, I just wanted to make sure you were okay.”

“I’m good.”

“Well, you sound it. Much better than the other day.”

“How did I sound the other day?”

Augusta let out a sigh. “Are you sure you want to know?”

“Well, yes.”

“Like you needed a woman.”

Charles laughed. “What language! Mother would be appalled.”

“I don’t know. She might agree if she likes her.”

“I haven’t done anything.”

“Yet.” Augusta quipped back.

Yet being the operative word of the day. Even Sidney alluded to his tone being different. Had he become that much of a bear lately? The drive back gave him time to reflect on Esther Denham. She was someone different than all the other women he had dated or had other relationships with. He had tried to get her to answer on whether she was attracted to him and she had pretty much refused to answer, hiding behind not mixing business with her personal life. Tomorrow, he decided. Tomorrow, he would no longer be a customer. Then, he would get his answer. He looked in the mirror and realized he was grinning like a fool.

In Goliath, there was a whole other conversation going. Clara looked at Esther. “So, what is going on between you and Charles?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, you haven’t been out on a date with a guy since well since you know.”

“It wasn’t a date.”

“He paid for the meal and then some.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, I got an incredibly good tip. Have you stalked him on Facebook yet?”

Esther rolled her eyes. “Whatever for?”

“So, you just let some random guys show up at the B-N-B and you aren’t even curious about him?” Clara looked appalled. “Esther, the guy is good looking. Not as good looking as Edward, but still attractive. And he used a very elite charge card.”

Esther rolled her eyes. “Just because he used a charge card doesn’t mean he’s got money. If anything, it could mean he’s in debt to his eyeballs.”

“Well, I was disappointed to see he was driving a Chevy.”

“His car is at Louie’s.”

“What kind of car?” Clara was interested.

“He said it was the business car, not his personal car.”

“Oh, come on Esther. What was it?”

“A BMW.”

“Wow, not many of those on this side of town.”

“He’s not from here. He’s from Wilmington.”

“What does he do?”

“Acquisitions and mergers.”

“It must pay good.”

“I would imagine so.”

“And why aren’t you jumping this guy?”

Esther rolled her eyes. “I don’t need some guy to rescue me from my life. I am perfectly content.”

“Oh, yes. Living the great life in the middle of nowhere, with no job, and no boyfriend. Sounds great.”

“You rely too much on someone solving your problems. My lack of work is only temporary. I enjoy not living in the city and as you are aware, I am perfectly fine without a boyfriend.”

“If you say so.”

“I do.”

“You don’t miss it?”

“What, the dating, having to look perfect, to say the right thing, having to rearrange your schedule to accommodate them?”

“I meant the sex but okay that too.”

“Oh, yes. The worry about STDs or pregnancy or the guy having multiple partners? You know Clara you are reminding how great I have it.”

“It’s not that bad Esther. What about having someone to come home to, to eat with, to do things with?”

Esther could not come up with a good rebuttal at that. “So, everything is great with Edward?”

“Well, as good as it could be. I’m not complaining.”

“Maybe you should be. How long are you going to let him drag out this engagement? Sounds to me like he really doesn’t want to settle down.” Esther got ruffled by Clara.

“He wants to talk to Aunt Sophia.”

“Which you still haven’t met.”

“No, but I’m hoping to soon. Edward thought you might be going to Gatlinburg to take wedding photos sometime.”

“I was asked, but I haven’t decided.”

“Why not?”

“I’ve got some other jobs lined up.”

“Really?”

Clara was annoying. Esther decided she should have let her ride with Charles. At least she would have peace and quiet. “Yes, I’m thinking about taking a commission job from the gallery and the museum wants me to take photos for them.”

“Edward thought maybe if you were going to Gatlinburg then we could all meet up to meet Aunt Sophia.”

“You mean he wants to hide behind me. She doesn’t like me all that much better.”

“Edward says the old lady loves you.”

“Doubtful. I just don’t go crying when she says something I don’t like.” Clara got quiet after that and Esther was glad. She found Clara’s talk about hooking up with Charles a little too distracting. She just wanted to concentrate on the music and the road.

Esther could feel her agitation increasing as she got closer to home. It went to full out when the lights hit the number of cars lined up around the house. She was going to have to park down the street. She did not like leaving Goliath out that far. Charles pulled in behind her.

“Is it a block party?” Charles asked but Clara laughed.

“Only the best kind Charles.” Clara smiled at him and he was vastly aware she was flirting with him. The music was loud enough they could hear it humming as they walked close to the house. Sure enough, it looked like a frat party was in full swing. “Oh, there’s Rut. Let us go say hello.”

Charles looked and noticed the guy named Rut. Rutledge Willowby, someone he knew from the summers at his beach house. Great, he thought to himself. “Miss Denham!” They were walking by a neighbor’s house. Clara continued but Charles stayed back with Esther. “Can you please do something about the noise? I realize you and your brother are much younger, but I have things to do tomorrow and can’t be up all night long.”

Esther smiled at the man. “Sorry, Mr. Rogers. Edward didn’t tell me he was having friends over.”

“Friends? I think the whole college is there. Good lord, there were naked women running in the back yard and naked men running in the street not too long ago. I’m not a prude Miss Denham, but for goodness sake, it is a little much.”

“Sorry, Mr. Rogers. I’ll see what I can do.”

Esther turned around and found Charles laughing. “Naked women running around in the backyard and I’m not lucky?”

Esther rolled her eyes as she was already agitated with Clara. She pulled out her phone and dialed a number. 

“Hey,”

“What’s the matter kiddo?” Jester asked.

“Edward has the neighborhood in an uproar.”

“Party time I take it.”

“It’s the equivalent of a college frat party plus some.”

“Oh, Mr. Rogers is having a hay day about it.”

“Yes, and I rather not.”

“I’ll make some calls. It will be a minute though before I can wrangle up some to come with me.”

“That’s fine.”

“Busting up the party?” Charles asked her.

“I have to live with the neighbors. Edward does not. If Mr. Rogers is agitated, you can only imagine what Mrs. Canton is fuming at on the other side. Her husband is a local priest. They will be bringing the holy water and performing exorcisms tomorrow to remove the devil out of the house.” Charles let out a light laugh.

“So, Jester is coming?”

Esther shrugged. “Sooner or later.”

“I guess that means I get to enjoy the party until then.”

“Feel free.”

“Where are you going?”

She pointed to the garage. She walked towards the back where the garage was. Before she got too far, Clara came running back.

“Esther! You aren’t going to believe who is here.”

“And there you are my little pet.” Charles found himself looking at Peter along with a familiar face heading towards them. Esther apparently had not heard him but turned and had continued to the garage.

“Charles Babington?”

“Rutledge.”

“What are you doing here?”

“You know this guy?” Peter asked Rutledge. Charles looked over to where he thought Esther was, but she must have gotten inside the garage and he let out a breath of relief.

“Yeah, summer beach house. You know the guy I used to talk about having everything he ever wanted.”

“It wasn’t like that.”

“Really,” Rutledge looked at Peter. “The guy wants for nothing.” Clara was taking it all in. She knew it.

“And just what are you doing here Peter?” Clara asked.

“I’m a friend, besides, I came to talk to Esther.”

“Where’s your wife?” Clara was glad Esther was not here. Peter was not sober.

“Who cares. I do not. Where did Esther go? I’ve got something to talk to her about.”

“She really doesn’t care to talk to you.” Charles found himself saying out loud.

Peter laughed. Charles could tell he was going to say something, but Rutledge had convinced him to turn back towards the house. Charles turned to head towards the garage where he knew Esther had disappeared to. He found the garage highly organized, to include a small seating table.

“Party that boring?”

“I didn’t quite make it. Are you hiding here until Jester shows?”

“Not hiding.” He could tell she was upset. She had to have seen Peter.

“Does he show up a lot?”

Esther was thinking of something and did not catch the question. “What?”

“Peter? Does he show up a lot?”

“Not so much after I changed the locks.” Esther let out a laugh.

“I’m sorry.”

Esther looked at Charles. “Sorry? For what? Did you tell Edward to throw a party?”

“Well, no, but I get the feeling that Peter is here because of earlier at Louie’s.”

Esther mused. “Maybe. Who cares though?”

“Well, you are hiding out in the garage.” Esther looked at him. He implied that she still cared since she was out in the garage. She looked at her watch. It was at least another good twenty minutes before Jester would show up. Certainly, she could hold out that long.

Steadying her nerves, she picked up her bottle off the table. “Fine, let’s go hang out with the college kids.” Charles was not sure that was the desired outcome of the conversation and he frowned but Esther was already heading out the door.

Esther walked into her front door, music blaring from the stereo. People everywhere, a few young girls dancing on her dining room table. She was glad she had stowed her laptop in her room. Beer bottles littered the living room. Rutledge was in the kitchen mixing drinks with her blender and pouring them into plastic cups. Rutledge caught Esther’s eye. “Esther!” he called out friendly, but it was barely heard above the music. “Drink?” She held up her bottle, as she came prepared, with of course her root beer minus the label.  
Rutledge caught Charles’ eye and held out the cup for him. Charles lagged as Esther moved around the room. “So, what brings you here?” Rutledge was curious as how Charles ended up in the middle of nowhere.

“Car trouble and detours.” Charles kept his eye on Esther as she approached Edward and Clara on the far side of the room. “You?”

“Edward. I met him a few years ago at the beach. Been hanging out ever since when I come this way.”

“So, what brings you this way?”

“We met up at the lake today. Decided to come throw a party. I heard Esther was done with grad school.”

“Mostly. Has a capstone paper to write.” Charles mused out loud.

Rutledge caught the look he was giving Esther. “Man, you are barking up the wrong tree.”

Charles looked back at him. “What do you mean?”

Rutledge laughed. “I mean, you aren’t her type.”

“And what do you know about her type?”

Rutledge rolled his eyes. “I mean she’s not going to get her panties all twisted up because of a flashy car and fancy job. I mean just look at Peter. No job and was working at the local auto store and she was all over him. Your idea of getting your hands dirty is the ink exploding from your pen.”

Charles let his eyes drift over to Peter, who was trying to catch Esther’s attention. “I know how to get my hands dirty,” he mumbled as he walked over to join the card game that was being set up. “Esther, you need a partner?”

Parker mumbled something incoherent.

“Yes, if you know how to play Euchre.” He gave her a dazzling smile.

Peter sat down across from Edward. “Well, this is a dandy.” Edward replied as the other two guys glared at each other. “I hope you are ready to play dealer cutthroat edition.”  
Esther of course expected Edward wanting to play this way. Esther looked at her watch. Barely anytime had passed from the garage to walking into the party. The game progressed quickly with Esther and Charles behind as they never had played together, whereas Peter and Edward had spent endless time partnering over the year. Charles was not out to lose to Peter though. Peter though was clearly past his limit as he kept waiving Rutledge over to bring him more drinks and it allowed them to catch up. They were both one trick away from winning the round.


	9. Assumptions and Misdemeanors

Flashes of lights outside shimmered through the windows as people started yelling out that the cops had shown up. Edward glared at Esther who could only smirk as she drank the rest of her bottle. Jester came strolling in along with two others behind him.

“Noise complaints, turn down the radio.” Esther got up and turned the radio off. “Party is over, clear out.” Jester’s voice was loud and steady. He caught a look at Peter who obviously could not stand without assistance. “Peter, you are with us.”

Peter let out some explicit, most directed towards Esther as Jester led him outside. If that was not bad enough, Edward had a few for her as well which she shrugged off. The other officers went around the house to see if there was anyone else, they could pick up. Another ten minutes later, Jester was back in the living room.

“He’ll be released on Monday after he goes to court.”

“I’ll let Louie know but I don’t think he was to be at work this week.”

Jester looked at Charles. “I didn’t expect to see you still here.”

“Louie can’t fix the car until Monday. I’ve got a rental and will be leaving tomorrow.” 

Jester was not sure what else to say. “Might want to get Goliath back home,” he directed to Esther. The party goers all cleared out, Esther went and did as she was instructed. Charles moved his rental to the driveway.

Esther looked at the mess that was all over her yard as well as in her house. The last thing she wanted to do tonight was pick up, but she did not want to do it in the morning either. She started emptying out open bottles and the plastic cups. The smell was quite intoxicating. Rutledge had not skimped on the liquor. She saw Charles helping. “You don’t have to help.”

He smiled at her. “I thought it would help give me a discount.” Esther went back to pouring out the drinks. “Can I ask you something?” He slightly frowned to himself realizing the second drink was a little stronger than it should have been. Esther looked at him. “Why are you going to call Louie about Peter? You are seriously not worried about him.”

Esther let out a scruff. “Heavens no. Louie though will need to most likely call in someone to help if he is a guy short. He’s the only mechanic around for a good fifty miles.”

“You sure that is all?”

Esther gave him a disbelieving look. “What else?”

The extra drink was making him feel bold. “I mean it seems you have some unfinished business with Peter.”


	10. Call of Duty

Dr. Evers was amused watching his college son battling a young Miss Denham over a game of chess. He had received a late night call a few weeks ago from a scared high school student he had met during a college visit to his department needing to be bailed out at the local university. Esther Denham, with her auburn hair that in the right light would cast off the red fire within her locks.

A bright high school student, Dr. Evers knew that behind her normal reserved personality, there was a young lady exceptionally talented and smart. Within a short time of the college visit, he along with his wife Molly, who was an art professor, had spent a few weekends with her encouraging Esther to start summer school to get a head of her college coursework. The death of her father had faltered her outlook in life, and she had turned to an older stepbrother to look for guidance that in Dr. Evers opinion would cause her to flounder in life.

Her mother, anxious to get Esther to refocus on her life goals, encouraged her daughter to foster the relationship with the professor and his wife. They invited her to stay with them over the summer, where Molly, had introduced her to photography and Esther excelled at it. They traveled over the state taking pictures and becoming fast friends.

Their son, Scott, was home from the Air Force Academy for a week of leave. The two had taken to each other like a duck on the water. Dr. Evers laughed as his son continued to be berated by the young lady. Of course, as he watched, he knew that sometimes Scott had allowed Esther to win. The end of his leave had come, and they had become kindred spirits.

They were pleasantly surprised when they found out the two had continued to keep in touch although their lives were much split apart. Dr. Evers suggested to Esther one evening that perhaps she could also join the military. Trying to get away from Edward and his bad vices, Esther had elected to go enlisted. The military brought a structure to her life when she needed it the most.

Esther looked at the last letter she received from Scott. Scott was her Mr. Bingley brought to life. Esther mused as she read Pride and Prejudice for the 100th time at least. He was good manner, exceptionally good looking and had a good head on his shoulders. Of course, as he was an officer and she enlisted, the relationship’s fate seems to be linked to friendship. Then, as she locked up the office last night after another run in with her boss, Esther decided to end her enlistment contract and not re-enlist. Not that it would improve her chances with Scott, but she could not do another four years working for that man. The last straw was when he decided she could no longer take college classes during lunch. She was on a schedule, and with that, it would add at least another two years for her to complete her bachelor’s degree.

Scott was in his last leg of flight training and would soon find out what kind of plane he would get. Of course, regulations kept him and Esther apart. But as he read her last letter, he realized an opportunity had presented itself. She could separate from the service, finish her degree and then if she wanted, return to the service as an officer. He smiled to himself. Somewhere in that time, he hoped to make her his wife. She was the only woman he had ever met to challenge him. She was witty underneath her shy exterior. Of course, she had a temper. What woman would not with that red hair?

As fate would have it, the world around them fell into chaos and Scott found himself listening to his superior explain how he would be shipping out overseas for six months in a violent part of the world. “When?” he said unbelieving that of all times this would happen.

Captain Rally looked at Lieutenant Evers. “A week. You are going to be my wingman.”

Scott looked up at his mentor. “Me?”

“Yes, you have a gift to remain calm in intense situations. Get with the orderly room to get your checklist.”

“Yes, sir!” Captain Rally looked down at the paperwork on his desk and realized Scott was still standing in his office. He looked up at him. “I don’t suppose if I get it done that, I could take a day or two to take leave?” Rally smiled at the young man. Unlike the other hot shots in training, this one apparently had a steady sweetheart back home. He always showed up to parties alone and when harassed by the others, he would just give them a cheeky smile about how he would not trade any of their dates with the firecracker back home.

“Going to go see Miss Denham?” Captain Rally knew of course, she was enlisted and counseled Scott about pursing a relationship that would terminate his own career if anyone else found out. The last time they spoke, Miss Denham’s enlistment contract was set to expire, and she would be returning to civilian status shortly. Rally was happy for the young man.

“Yes, I want to see her before I will be gone that long without seeing her.” Rally smiled at Scott.

“Well, then, better hope to it Lieutenant.”

“Yes, Sir!” Scott took off and had a copy of the checklist on the Captain’s desk by the following midmorning.

Scott leaned up against the door of Esther’s doorframe as he waited for her to get off work. There was not much time. Scott looked at his watch then back at the parking lot where Goliath had pulled into a parking space. She loved that old truck, he mused. Bounding up the stairs to the third floor, Esther was surprised when she spied Scott against her door.

“I didn’t know you were coming to see me.”

He smiled at her. “Well, you know, I just happened to be in the neighborhood so I thought if you didn’t have plans, perhaps you would want to get a bite to eat.”

Esther looked around. “Are you sure?”

“Oh, come on. No one know me around here.”

“Do I get to get some civvies on or are you going to make me go in my uniform?” He laughed. 

“Okay but make it quick. I don’t have long.”

“You are awful bossy.”

“You mean you are awful bossy sir!” Scott teased her. “I’ll wait outside.” Esther quickly changed into something she thought was decent to be seen in.

Scott gazed over her form as she exited her room. He took her hand. “Come on Miss Denham. We got places to be.” Esther looked as him as he opened the car door for her.

“Oh, what a gentleman behavior Mr. Evers.” He laughed with a coyishly grin. “You are acting a little strange.” She paused and looked at him, “do I get to know where we are going?”

He glanced at her. “I told you. I wanted to see you. I don’t have much time and I thought you would like to get a bite to eat.” He focused back on the road. “You are off, tomorrow right?”

“Yes.”

“Good.”

“Did I say a little strange? I meant really strange.” He laughed. Esther smiled. After the horrible day she had today, she needed something positive.

“Well, with everything going on, I won’t be able to get much time off for the foreseeable future and since your enlistment is about up, you will be heading home.”

He pulled into a small café. “Are they even open?”

He opened the door for her again. “Yes, special arrangement.” He watched her study him. “I found it on the internet. I think it will be just your cup of tea.”

“Funny as that is the name of the café.”

“Yes, I thought so.” They walked in. Esther let out a laugh. It looked like a Jane Austen book club had been hired to decorate the place. 

An older lady came in from the back room. “Oh, good you are here. You must be Miss Denham.”

Esther looked at the older lady. “Yes, how did you know?”

She laughed. “I’m Mrs. Gardiner.”

“Really? You have got to be pulling my leg.”

“Oh, come now Miss Denham. Do you want to see my driver’s license?” Esther looked at Scott.

“Perfect right?” He pulled out the chair for her.

“Okay, I am seriously concerned about you. Do I need to call the flight surgeon? Did you hit your head on the canopy of the plane?”

“Live a little Esther! You can’t tell me you aren’t impressed?”

“Okay. I will give you that.” She looked at him as he sat down. “Now, are you going to tell me what is going on?”

“Nope.” He smiled at her. “I hope you are hungry. You’ve got at least three courses.”

Esther smiled at him. “Is that supposed to be another Austen reference or just dumb luck on your part?”

“Of course, is that not what Mrs. Bennett said to Mr. Bingley just before he asked Jane to marry him?”

“You’ve been reading Jane Austen?”

“Of course, I know she’s a favorite of yours. Now, how’s your boss been?” They spent the meal catching up from their last letter.

“Come back anytime,” Mrs. Gardiner called out the door as they walked back to the car. He drove her to the next destination, an observatory.

“One more stop Esther before I have to drop you back on base.” Scott looked at her. “I’ve got an early flight.”

“Well, that’s a shame. I thought there were more going to be more Austen references.” He smiled at her.

He laughed. “I can only remember so many! I don’t have her books memorized.”

“I know. You have all those other things to remember while you are flying.” Esther looked at him and saw his face faulter. “You know what you are going to be flying.”

He smiled at her as he opened the door to the car. “I know what I will be flying. Now, come. I don’t want to be late to the show.” The show concluded and they walked around some of the displays. “You know if you look here you can see a special star.” He pointed to a contraption that had a magnifying glass that leaned close to a platform. Esther gave him a perplex look.

She did as he instructed. She looked back up. “I don’t see it.”

“Here let me adjust the lens. Okay, try again.”

Esther looked back through the eyeglass and looked up quickly. “Scott?”

He smiled at her as he got down on a knee. “Esther Denham, in vain have I struggled. You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you. Will you do the honor and be my wife?” He watched her as her expression turned to joy.


	11. The Spiral

Esther looked at the ring in the box and let out a sigh. She leaned against the bed frame with a large box in front of her. The letters from Scott, the pictures of places and things they had gone together, and she swallowed back the tear, the flag from the funeral along with the dried roses among other mementos of him. The Philharmonics Orchestra music playing in the background.

Of course, only a few had known and not anyone from home. Captain Rally had been the one that had shown up at her dorm room, unofficially of course, to tell her how Lt. Evers had been killed in action over Afghanistan. Dr. Evers and Molly, her support for the time after before she had turned to Edward and the resulting downfall.

She arrived back to the house, alone and depressed. Uncle Jack, spirited as ever, walked her around and gave her a tour before handing over the key just hours before. It had been months and no matter what the doctor had told her, she felt she would never be happy again. She opened the refrigerator. Edward had been there. He left her some beer from the party the other night. Peter was okay. He was no Scott Evers. Esther pursed her lips. There would never be another one. Trying to think there would be was pointless.

She took the six pack and went to her room. If Scott had survived, they would only be a few months before they would have been married. One bottle quickly turned into three. Esther rubbed her forehead. She forgot to take her medicine, although she highly doubted it was working and did not know why she kept taking the pills. She clumsily made her way to the bathroom. Opening the cabinet, she found the pill bottle. She brought it back over to the bed. Opening her forth bottle, she took the pill. She looked at the photo next to her bed. She missed him so much, her mind sank further in despair.

Esther woke up. An older lady near her bed reading the machine that was beeping next to her. “There, there dear. You are alright.”

Her throat was tight, “where?”

“You are in Mercy Hospital. Been here for almost a week.”

“What happened?”

“Oh, I will go get the doctor. I’m just an aide.”

An older man arrived in his doctor coat. “Miss Denham, how are you feeling? I am Dr. Bennett.”

“Like I stayed in the gas chamber too long at basic training.”

“Well, you are lucky. If your friend had not found you, I believe you would be six feet under.” Dr. Bennett looked at her chart. “What do you remember?”

“I remember sitting in my room drinking a beer.”

“I’d say. Your bloodwork showed a high level of intoxication. Mixed with your pill for depression, well a few of them, and now you are my guest.” Dr. Bennett looked at her. 

“You’ll be here a few more days until Dr. Montgomery can get you squared away.” He sat down next to her. “You are a bright girl Miss Denham by all reports. I am amazed you didn’t see the warning signs.” 

Esther closed her eyes. She had but, in her despair, she had refused to believe that she had been spiraling out of control. Edward had been there when she had finally returned home beer in hand and a party every weekend. “I did,” she answered the doctor truthfully. What a mess she had become.

“Well, progress already then, Miss Denham. I have got other patients to check on. I would start with liquids and maybe tomorrow some real food. Your stomach will be a little sensitive for a bit.”

Esther sat in Dr. Montgomery’s office not long after Dr. Bennett had released her home. “You know, the only way this works is if you talk out loud.” 

Esther looked out the window. She did not want to talk about it. Any of it. 

“Okay, let us start with something basic. Why not tell me about the time in the military?” Over a few meetings, Esther finally began to communicate to Dr. Montgomery.

“So, Peter. The guy that found you and got you to the hospital. He seems like a good sort. Why not go on a date with him?”

“I hardly believe I am ready.”

“No one is really ready. You have made great strides in your progress. I must commend you on finally getting Edward out of the house and not drinking. I wish I had more patients with your grit.” Dr. Montgomery gave her a smile.


	12. The Bill

Everyone in town thought she was pinning over Peter. Truth was, she was pinning over what she had projected on to Peter from Scott. Esther swallowed hard. Scott was not coming back. There was no coming back from the dead. Peter was just the guy that had filled a void during a turbulent time in her life.

Tim was right. She needed a change in scenery. Esther opened her laptop and went into her email box. Sending an email to Dr. Evers, she went to take a shower and thought about Charles. Esther shook her head under the water. He did not know her; he did not know the past. Of course, he would assume there was unfinished business with Peter. How could he know, as Dr. Montgomery would say? No one in town did, not even Edward, Jack or Clara. Mary Lou knew a little and even Tim, but not everything. And Peter, for his part, popped up everywhere it seemed in one fashion or another today.

Esther climbed into bed with the box. She had saved everything. She found the blank cards. Outside, stood the house used for Pride and Prejudice for Pemberley. They were to be for thank you cards for her wedding shower. She smiled at the memory. Scott insisted they have an Austen theme wedding. A romantic at heart, she mused, despite his aloofness from being a pilot. She opened her laptop back to a word document. Esther thought to herself, ‘I have literally written thousands of words, hundreds of pages for school. Certainly, a few words would be easy.’

Charles flipped through the channels, unhappy with any one selection. He obviously hit a nerve. Rutledge’s drink had been stronger than he accounted for. Uncle Jack’s warning about a temper came to mind as he saw the expression flash across Esther’s face before she had stormed off to her room. This was a fine kettle of fish he got himself into.

He could still hear the music coming from her room. Of course, that had been hours ago. She could be asleep by now. He had knocked on her door after she left him in the kitchen with no answer. He almost thought of trying the doorknob, but that would be too far. He had heard the shower run and decided to go take one himself.

He was not sure why he kept bringing up Peter other than the guy kept showing up. He placed his arm across his eyes. He let out a light groan. He remembered why he kept women at a distance. They were frustrating. Not to mention, a lot of work. His phone beeped. Sidney. Charles laughed at the message. He typed a quick response back to him.

Morning came peeking through the curtains. Charles rolled over and looked at his phone. He forgot to set his alarm. Apparently, a series of unfortunate events was still at play. The house seemed quiet until he heard come commotion in the kitchen. He quickly got dressed and headed out.

“Mary Lou?”

“Oh, hello dear. I was not sure what you wanted for breakfast as Esther thought you would be leaving this morning. I made some of my homemade muffins in case you were in a hurry to leave.”

Charles looked down the hall. Ester’s door was open. He looked back at Mary Lou. “Where’s Esther?”

“Oh, she left early this morning.” She saw a little bit of disappointment. “Church, you know. It is Sunday. She goes every week to the early service. She knew I would be up since it is my normal routine for the café. I go later in the day.”

He sat down at the table. “Milk or juice?”

“I guess some milk.” He looked around. The main area had been cleaned up. “I guess I didn’t hear her get up.”

Mary Lou laughed. “Well, the military has taught her to rise with the sunrise and work until the late hours.”

“Can I ask you something?” Mary Lou sat down across from him. “Is she ever going to get over Peter?” He spoke out loud without really expecting an answer. Not that he was one to back down from competition, but if she was still holding onto Peter, there was no point in going forward.

Mary Lou almost laughed but saw his face. “It’s not Peter that is holding her back.”

“It’s not?” The house phone rang. “Are you going to get that?”

Mary Lou looked at him, “She’s got a machine.” The phone rang a few more times and they heard Esther’s voice telling the caller to leave a message.

“Hey kiddo, its Dr. Evers. And Molly” a woman’s voice chimed in, “Anyway, we got your email last night. We are happy to finally hear from you. We will leave the extra keys with the main office. Feel free to come and stay if you want. We are going on a trip for my retirement so we will have to catch up when we get back. Bye dear.”

Mary Lou let out a small smile. “It’s not really my place, but Esther has been through a lot the last few years. Peter was just someone along the way.”

“Along the way to what?” Charles was concentrating on Mary Lou when the door opened.

Esther came in wearing a navy-blue suit that complimented her French braid. Charles found himself staring. Mary Lou stood up. “How was Mr. Miller?” Charles momentarily forgot what he had decided last night. She poured herself a glass of milk and sat down.

Grabbing a muffin, “It wasn’t Mr. Miller. It was some other guy who is new. He was so nervous I think he forgot he had sermon notes. Not that I am complaining. Oh good, blueberry.” She glanced over at Charles. “What’s the matter with you?”

Charles flushed. “What do you mean?”

Esther looked at her watch. “Kind of late?”

“I forgot to set my alarm.” He looked at her. “And I didn’t get a wakeup call.”

Esther shrugged her shoulders. “A series of unfortunate events still occurring then?” Charles laughed.

“It seems the theme.”

“Well, I’m all done here. I will talk to you later dear.” Mary Lou looked at the pair at the table.

Esther handed her the key to her car. “Thanks. I owe you one.” 

Mary Lou pated her arm. “Oh, you have a missed call on the machine.” She mentioned as she walked out.

“You borrowed her car?”

“You blocked the driveway.”

“You could have woken me.”

“It was early.”

“I’m used to doing early.”

“Three?”

“You’ve been up since three?”

“Couldn’t sleep, so yeah. I got the yard picked up, then the house.”

Charles studied her. “How come you couldn’t sleep?”

“I was irritated.” Charles was not sure if he wanted to ask who irritated her. He was fairly sure it was him.

“Well, I need to go gather up my stuff and get going. I’ve got some meetings to prepare for.” Esther watched as he went back to his room. She got up and put the dishes in the dishwasher and packed some extra muffins in a bag along with the card. Esther took a deep breath. “Well, I think I’m all set. “He handed her a piece of paper with an email address. “You can email me the invoice and I can send you the money.” She followed him out the door. He placed his bag in the trunk.

She handed him the bag. “There is no way I’m eating all those muffins by myself. Besides, with your track record, you’ll be lost within an hour and will be starving to death.” He laughed at that. “I hope it hasn’t been too terrible.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll leave a raving review.” Esther gave him a little smile. It at least seemed she was not still mad at him. “Send me the email.”

She gave him a mocking salute as he got in the car. ‘Goodbye Mr. Babington,’ Esther mumbled as she watched the car drive out of sight. She went back into the house. She was tired but decided to start her project anyway.


	13. Moving Forward

Several hours later, the bed had been stripped and the linen was in the washing machine. All the pictures from the walls taken down and stored in the garage. She was going to need help moving the dresser and bed to the garage, but in the meantime, she put them in the middle of the room and away from the wall. Tomorrow, she would head to Maggie Valley for patch and paint. Satisfied with the progress she made, she sat at the table with her laptop. She began an outline for her capstone. It was going to be a busy week, but she was determined to get her list done.

Charles pulled into the valet parking. The bell hop took his bag from the trunk. “Welcome back Mr. Babington.”

“Thanks George.”

“Miss Babington has been waiting for your arrival. She’s in the bar.” He nodded to him and walked to find her talking to the bartender.

“Augusta.”

“Charles. I was beginning to worry you got lost.”

Charles laughed, “no not at all. I was better prepared this time. I need to get my suit to the cleaner and settled in. Dinner in an hour?”

“Yes, I’m in my usual room.”

“Okay, I will come get you when I’m ready.”

Charles quickly went upstairs and took another shower. He opened his laptop and frowned as he scrolled through the messages. He thought for sure Esther would have sent him the bill by now. He decided he would check again after dinner.

Downstairs, Augusta got him caught up about Sophia Denham and her ideas. “Why do you get that look when I say Ms. Denham?”

“What? What look?”

“Really, what is going on?”

“I may have met Mrs. Sophia Denham’s niece.”

Augusta studied her brother. “Details?” He laughed and he relayed how he met Esther.

“What is so amusing?”

“Sounds a lot like one of my favorite types of movies.”

“There was nothing romantic about it.”

“It still explains a little.”

“Besides, she was pretty upset with me last night. I really put my foot in it. I haven’t heard from her since.”

“Does she have your number?”

“No, but I gave her my email address and haven’t gotten anything.”

Augusta let out a sigh. “Maybe the whole situation was embarrassing to her and she’s not sure.”

“Not sure to send me a bill?”

Augusta shrugged. “I don’t know! Did you look at the contracts on the desk?”

“No, but I need to. Meet up at breakfast?”

“Yes, six?” Charles nodded his head.

Back in his room, he looked at the contracts Augusta had left. There were at least two that would need to be reworked. He combed through the emails from Friday until the most current one. Still no email from Esther. He turned his focused back to work.

Charles rubbed his temples. It was late. He called the front desk to ask about his suit. Monday came early. An early run to help focus his mind was what he decided to start with. He came back and quickly had a shower before going to breakfast with Augusta.

“Any emails?” She asked like a silly schoolgirl.

“No.”

“Hmm, maybe no internet or maybe her laptop is broke?”

He gave her a serious look, “doubtful. You are wishful thinking. I told you, I made her mad.”

“Well, then she should charge you double. You can afford it.”

“Mr. Babington, I wondered if you were going to show up.” Charles turned to find Sophia Denham glaring at him.

He stood up. “Mrs. Denham, I had a little problem getting here, but I assure you I am fully vested.”

“Humph. We will see.” Sophia turned towards Augusta. “Miss Babington, I hope you got your brother up to speed.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Sophia Denham walked off. She leaned towards Charles as he set back down. “I hope you are ready to face off with her. I told you. She’s a bear.”

Charles laughed. “Well the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree sister.” A morning of negotiations soon followed but a lunch. Charles took a moment to relax in his room. No email. He decided to look up some information on google and Facebook.

Charles frowned at the screen. Esther Denham came up empty. He chose another strategy. Sophia Denham which also turned up negative. Edward Denham’s Facebook page was extensive. He tried to scroll through the friends list. He came across Clara’s picture. She said Clara was a classmate. He clicked on Clara Brereton. A much more manageable friend list. He was about to give up, when he came across a picture of Goliath for a listing of Evee. A knock on the door interrupted his search.

“Are you ready?” Augusta asked him at the door.

“Oh, let me grab a few things.” They went back to their meetings. Charles let out his breath at the conclusion of the meeting. He would have to stay a few more days to get things resolved. He would have to send Tanner to pick up his car. He met Tanner in the lobby. “Here’s the key to the rental.”

“Okay I will get your car and return this one. I should be back Wednesday.”

“Very good.”

By the time dinner was done, he was exhausted. He went back and fell asleep quickly.


	14. Chivalry

Mary Lou looked at the house. “You have been very busy today.”

Esther laughed. “Well, I am putting some excessive energy to good use.”

“This is a very pretty blue. How are you going to decorate this room now?”

“I haven’t decided. Dr. Evers said I could stay as long as I want at the beach house. I thought to travel around the area a bit and see if I could find some inspirations from the change in scenery.”

“Well, I’m glad you are going to take some time for yourself.” Mary Lou studied her. “Have you heard from Charles?”

Esther laughed, “What?” She shakes her head. “What a nightmare it must have been. I could not charge him. The business is not even legally opened, I had no meals for him, he had a rough time with his car and Peter kept showing up, not to mention Edward’s epic party.”

“Well, he seemed to have a good time regardless.”

“Probably just something different than what he is used to.”

“I thought maybe he would stop by when he picked up his car from Louie’s.”

Esther shrugged her shoulders, “Well, he was supposed to pick it up today and I’ve been home since ten. Mary Lou, it is alright. Really, you know there was nothing going to come of it.”

“Well, he did put Kathryn in her place.”

“Yes, he did. Anyway, I have got jobs lined up this week, then the beach and hopefully, I will finish up the commission job. I’ll be too busy the next couple of weeks.”

“Well, let me know if you need anything else. You’ve been hiding in this house too long.” Mary Lou gave her a hug before leaving. Esther turned on the television and thumbed through the channels. Oh, joy Esther mused. It was an Austen themed evening. She fixed herself a sandwich and sat down. Mr. Darcy had made his grand entrance to the country ball. Esther had been brave telling Mary Lou that she did not expect to see Charles but somewhere deep within her, as she stayed up watching the movie, she wished he would. As the night wore on though, she knew it was impossible. Giving up, she locked her door and went to bed. She done what she could and there was no sense in crying over spilled milk.

Tuesday was another bear of all-day meetings as Charles clashed with Sophia over different points of the acquisition. Lunch time broke and the lady asked Augusta and him to join her for lunch.

“You are a hard man to deal with, Mr. Babington.”

“I will take that as a compliment Mrs. Denham.” Sophia studied the man.

“I’m not sure I meant that as a compliment.”

“Maybe, you should explain why you seem to have some sort of sentimental attachment to the cabins.”

Sophia smiled at him and told him about how she met her husband in Gatlinburg. “My niece, whom I have great affection for, is a photographer.” Charles looked at Augusta who had been drooling over the romantic story. “I had hoped she would take more interest in running the business.”

“Which is why you are trying to retain some control over it?” Augusta asked.

She looked at the young lady. “Well, yes, especially in today’s economic stand. I would like for her to have something to rely on for income. Pictures are all good and everything, but it’s really hit or miss to count it as income.”

“Does she have any in listed for sale?”

Sophia looked at him. “Maybe at some gallery in Maggie Valley where she is so fond of. However, it is in the middle of nowhere. Unless she gets better exposure, doubtful anyone would even go looking for her.”

“I don’t think I’ve heard of it,” Augusta mused out loud.

“It’s not far from Gatlinburg and the Smoky Mountains. She was on a good track before then with Scott before that got all convoluted.”

Charles interest peaked, “Scott? You mean Peter.”

Sophia looked at him. “Peter? Please do not insult my intelligence. Do you know Peter, or do you know my niece?” She reappraised her opinion on the man. He must have done his homework on the Denham holding.

“Well, I did happen to drive through Maggie Valley and met both Peter and Esther.”

“Is Peter back around? I thought she ended that.”

“She did. So, you were talking about him.”

“No, I was talking about her fiancé Scott. They were set to marry before he got killed.”

Augusta looked at Charles. “Killed?” she asked.

“Yes, he was a pilot in the Air Force. Got sent overseas. They were supposed to be married when he returned but never did. Then, she met up with Peter and had a terrible time. I’ve been trying to get her to move out of nowhere to somewhere with a little more going on.”

“Well, I’m glad you explained your hesitation to the acquisition.” Charles smiled at the lady.

“Yes, well, I shall see you both in the morning. I hope to have this concluded. I have things to do.”

Augusta looked at Charles. “I guess you didn’t know.”

“How would I? I barely know her.”

“Obviously. It’s sad though.”

“What is?”

“Well, to have one fiancé killed and apparently another bad relationship after that.”

“How do you know it was bad?”

“You weren’t looking at Sophia when you said Peter. I thought the old lady was going to come unglued.”

“I think you’ve been reading too many romance novels.” Augusta just laughed. “Come on, I will walk you to your room.”

“How chivalrous of you.” Charles looked at her. “What?”

He just shook his head. “It just reminded me of something.”


	15. The Past Comes Calling

He went back to his room and clicked on Evee. Some photos, nothing in quite a while. He scrolled through the listings. Austen references. Charles let out a chuckle as he thought about Uncle Jack and then he stopped. There was a photo. A young Esther standing near a man in uniform at some sort of ceremony. Vastly different than the photo he found in his room. These two were looking at each other. He zoomed on the photo. Obviously, in love. He moved his cursor accidentally and the tag came up, Scott Evers.

He went back to google and Facebook. On Facebook, he found Scott Evers. There was only the same photo of Esther and him there, but his friend list was even shorter. He clicked on Dr. Evers. His father and professor at the university. So, she was to marry the professors’ son. Then, he died. Sophia said Peter was after a terrible time. He sat back in his chair and took a long drink. ‘I guess if my fiancé died, I would have a hard time as well.’

Esther woke up early on Tuesday. She felt like she was back in basic training. She sat at the table. She looked at her capstone outline. She grabbed a few books from her room. 

She poured herself a glass of milk and grabbed another muffin from Mary Lou. The fact she still had one to eat on Tuesday morning was impressive. Normally, she would have eaten all them in one day. She put the gallon of milk back in the fridge and sighed. ‘Why is this still hanging on my refrigerator door?’ she mused as she looked at the email address for Charles.

She sat down and got busy. The day flew by quickly and before she knew it, it was sixteen hundred or four o’clock in the afternoon she mused for the civilians. She needed a break from the laptop. She just intended to drive around the block. The music blaring on, she found she had driven Goliath towards Louie’s. ‘Well, it’s just a drive to clear my mind’ she thought to herself as she sang along to Pat Benatar. She frowned though as she got there. Louie was walking out and locking up.

“Hey there, what brings you this way?” He asked her.

“I needed to take a break from writing my capstone. How is everything here?”

“Good, I forgot how peaceful it is without Peter.”

Esther laughed, “I bet.” 

He watched her look around. “Looking for a BMW?”

“What? No.” Esther tried to deny it, but she answered too quickly as Louie was laughing.

“Had some driver show up to pick it up earlier along with another guy to drive the rental car back.”

“Well, you got him all fixed up then?” Louie nodded yes. “Well, that’s good anyway. Well, I got to head back. I’m so close to being done I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.”

“Alright, be careful going back.”

“Thanks, Louie.” Esther turned Goliath around and the radio back up. She let out a sigh. Well, it is a sign she thought. She got home and went back to the laptop, bringing a bowl of ice cream with her. Eddy’s never let her down. It was late, but she let out a sigh of relief. Probably not the best writing she done, but it was done and submitted. If she did halfway decent, she would still pass. At this point, she really did not care where she ranked. She took her shower and climbed into bed feeling accomplished even with a moment of disappointment in her heart.

Esther actually slept in that is if you count six in the morning sleeping in. She was to be in Maggie Valley by ten. She decided she would pull her pieces from the gallery as well. If they had not sold by now, it was highly unlikely they would. Goliath rolled into the museum on time. Tim was waiting for her with a smile.

“Esther!”

“Tim, you didn’t have to wait for me at the door.”

“Come on, we got a busy day.” And they did. Esther learned some of the other volunteers and workers names. Tim had her laughing all day long. It felt really good. At lunch, she ran over to the gallery and spoke with Mr. Gregory about pulling her pieces and donating them to the nursing homes. She told him she was going to accept the commission job from Mrs. Campion.

“You seem different Esther,” Tim looked at her as they sat down to eat.

“Is that a bad thing?”

“No, just unexpectant.”

“Well, let us just say I got a wakeup call. I’ve spent too much time with my head in the sand.”

“The wakeup call have a name?”

Esther blushed, “What do you mean?”

“I mean, that guy that was here. What was his name?”

“Charles?”

“Yeah, that guy.” Esther picked up her soda. “You didn’t.”

Esther laughed, “what? No, no, no.” She let out a breath. “He pointed out that I was still carrying a torch for Peter.”

“Well, that’s crazy.”

“I know, but to be fair, it must have seemed that way to everyone else. It’s not like everyone knew about Scott.” She let out a breath. “Now, I’ve been in a good mood the last few days. Do not be a downer. I need your help along with Roger tomorrow. I’ve got some furniture I need to move out to the garage.”

“The garage?”

“Yeah, I am redoing the house. I am going next week to the beach house to find some new inspiration and relaxation. When I get back, I plan on getting it finished. I am starting   
with the big bedroom. I’ll get that one all done, then attack the others.”

“Then what?”

“Rent it out, I hope. Aunt Sophia has offered me one of her cabins in Gatlinburg or Pigeon Forge for a bit. I thought to go see if I could find some work there after I finish my trail job.”

Tim smiled at her. “I’m glad to hear you are moving out of nowhere.”

“You live in nowhere.”

Tim laughed. “Not really, I moved out of Maggie Valley a few months ago. I am up in Pigeon Forge myself. Maybe if you get up that way, I will be able to get you out of the house more often.” Esther smiled at him. Tim was a good friend. “I know, just friends, but a guy can dream right?” Esther laughed at him.

The afternoon concluded and she went home. Roger and Tim would be by in the morning. She found another message on her phone. “Esther, this is Aunt Sophia. Call me back.” Esther groaned. It was not a request. She would have to call her back or the old lady was bound to show up on her doorstep.

“Aunt Sophia?”

“Esther, I know you are probably busy, but one of the couples at the cabin in Gatlinburg lost their photographer due to illness. It would be some easy money. They are pretty easy.”

“No bridezilla?”

“No, a much older couple.”

“When and what time?”

“Friday afternoon around five.”

“Okay, give them my cell number and I’ll work it out.” Esther looked at her pocket calendar. She needed a new one. This one had too many old memories on it. She put it on her shopping list on the fridge. Speaking of memories, she ran her finger over the email address and gave it a half smile. ‘Well that ship has sailed.’ It was obvious. He sent someone else to get his car. He would not be back.

She no sooner got off the phone and it rang again. “Hello?”

“Esther?”

“This is her.” She tried to place the voice.

“This is Rally.”

“Captain Rally?”

He laughed. “Actually, it’s major now, but yes.”

“What can I do for you?”

“I, um, well it’s a long story but I was wondering if you were going to be in Gatlinburg or Pigeon Forge anytime?”

“Gatlinburg on Friday evening.”

“Got time to spare for a few minutes?”

“Of course.”

“Good, how about we meet at the restaurant by the aquarium?”

“Sure, I will send you my cell. I’ve got some photos to take but I don’t know the particulars yet.”

“Okay, text it to me and I will text you back. Let me know what works for you. My schedule is flexible.” Esther got off the phone curious. This week was shaping up very entertaining.


	16. A Good Excuse

Sophia Denham was still in fighting spirits at Wednesday’s meeting. Even after he mentioned, he met her niece, the woman still seemed to be a stickler on some of the details of the acquisition. He took a deep breath. She was wearing him down. They took a break for lunch.

“Well, I thought mentioning her niece would help.”

“Not at all. I told you, she was going to be a problem.”

“There’s got to be a solution.”

“Maybe Esther?”

Charles looked at his sister. “And how would that help?”

“I don’t know, maybe she could talk to her.”

“Well, as I still haven’t heard from her, I doubt it.”

“Still nothing? You must have really said something terrible.”

Charles looked down at his plate. He was just trying to get her to, to something. Prove she was not pinning over Peter or to admit she was. Instead, he got a glaring look and a slammed door. He let out his breath. He had her address. Maybe he could send flowers or something.

“Charles?”

“Just thinking.”

George walked over. “Sorry, Mr. Babington, but I cleared your rental car and found another bag. I put it in your room.”

“Another bag?”

“Yeah, a brown sack. Had some muffins and a card.”

He looked over to find Augusta smiling at him. “Thank you, George.” The valet went back to his duties.

“Well?”

“Well what?”

“Aren’t you going to go get the card?” He looked at the lobby. Sophia Denham was there.

“Looks like Sophia is wanting to finish business. Come on.” It still took a good part of the afternoon. It did not help that he kept wondering about the card that was sitting in his room. He ended up making some concessions just move the meeting along.

“Very well, Mr. Babington. I expect the new contract in my office on Friday in Gatlinburg.”

Charles watched the lady leave the building and found Augusta studying him. “Well, now?”

He laughed at her. “I’m sure you are overreacting. You really need to stop watching those movies.” Needless to say, she followed him to his room. “Can you give me a minute?”

“Oh, come on.”

“Yes, come on. Come back in an hour and we will go to dinner. You can ask me then.”

Augusta puffed up her lower lip and stormed off, “Fine.”

Charles took the brown sack and sat on the couch in his living area. Of course, the muffins from Mary Lou. It was a relatively small envelope. He decided it must be from Mary Lou. He decided to go take a shower and get ready for dinner.

Sitting down waiting for Augusta to show up, he finally decided to open it. The message inside was short.

‘Contrary to what you and just about everyone else thinks, I’m not pinning away over Peter. There is no unfinished business as you called it.’  
‘But as Yoda would tell Luke, ‘there is another’ but that is neither here nor there.  
‘Anyway, I am sure by the time you read this; you are no longer having disruptions in your schedule. I hope at least you had a decent time at the B-N-B.’

A knock at the door surprised him. He barely got it open when Augusta came running in. “What did it say?”

“I thought we would talk about it at dinner.” She picked it up before he could get back to the chair.

“Oh, it’s Pemberley!”

“Do you mind?” he reached for it. “Augusta.” She quickly read the contents. “You know I don’t read your mail.”

She let out a laugh. “Yoda?”

“A Star Wars reference if you were a fan.”

“I know who Yoda is. That little green guy.” Charles rolled his eyes. She looked at the front of the card again. “She must like Austen.”

“Why do you say that?”

“This is the house that was used to film Pride and Prejudice. You would know it’s a Jane Austen novel if you read anything other than BusinessWeek.”

“Well, I am in the business and don’t have time to read much else.”

“I still find time.”

“Which explains why you are still single.”

“Ouch. When did you get to be so mean?”

“Come on, I’m hungry. You can berate me at the dinner table.”

They were waiting for their main course when Augusta finally decided to start talking about the card. “She must be talking about that other guy. What did Sophia say his name was?”

“Scott.”

“So now what?”

Charles lifted his eyebrow. “Now what? I go back to Wilmington.”

“You can’t go back home yet.”

“Why not?”

“You are just going to leave it this way?”

“I don’t recall the card asking me to come back.”

“You mean you finally found some other person of the opposite sex that likes Star Wars enough to quote it and you aren’t even the slightest bit interested?”

“Seems like there is little hope.”

Augusta laughed. “Rebellions are built on hope.”

“Oh, someone has been watching the new Star Wars movies.”

“I may have caught part of some. The television doesn’t always show my romantic comedies and to be truthful, I was quite bored that night.”

“I don’t exactly have a good reason to just show up in the middle of nowhere.” His phone beeped. “It’s Sidney. I’ll be right back.”

“I haven’t heard from you. I thought we were going hiking this weekend?”

“I don’t have any details yet.”

“Still going or do I need to tell Charlotte something else? Although, she seemed excited about it. I may still go even if you don’t.” Charles took a deep breath. He could see Augusta from where he was standing. He could stop by and see about hiking. It might be a good enough of an excuse.

“No, plan on it. You may need to help me get ready though.”

Sidney laughed. “It’s going to cost you.”

“Well, it doesn’t surprise me. I’ll try to have some details to you by Friday.”

“Geez, that’s not much time.”

“Oh, make it work.” Sidney laughed at him and hung up.

Charles made it back to the table. “Alright, I might have some small reason to stop by.”

Augusta’s eyes lit up. “Oh, and what would that be?”

“She was talking about hiking this weekend on the Trail for some photography commission she is working on.”

“I’ve always wanted to go hiking.” She gave him a big smile. And he started to shake his head. “Come on, it would help your pathetic excuse of showing back up. Is it just the weekend?”

“Fine, but I’m not carrying you no matter how much you cry.”

“I’m not going to cry.”

“Even when the bear is chasing you?”

“The Bear is going to eat you first. You have more meat on your bones!” Charles laughed at her.

“Not if I run faster than you.”


	17. The Visitor Returns

Esther stretched out on her bed. It was already Thursday. Two more days and she will be up on the trail again. She got dressed quickly and went out to the garage. Pulling down the ladder to the small attic, she climbed up to find some of her gear. She was only going for overnight so she would not a whole lot of stuff. Tim would probably pack the tent. 

She frowned on the thought. Maybe, she should bring her own. Not that she did not trust Tim, but she did not want to lead him into any false belief either. She grabbed what she thought she needed and lowered it down. She laid all the gear out in the back of Goliath.

She could hear the house phone ringing, so she went back into the house.

“Aunt Sophia?”

“I know, two calls in one week. Can you stop by on Friday when you come out?”

“Sure.”

“When are you taking photographs?”

“I’m meeting Mr. Hankins and Ms. Griffiths at five. I also am meeting Captain Rally.”

“Captain Rally?”

“Oh, yeah someone I knew from the service.”

“Is he married?”

Esther laughed. “Yes, aunt.”

“Well, that is too bad.”

“You know I don’t really need any help.”

“It couldn’t hurt. I meet some nice gentlemen at my meetings.” Esther rolled her eyes.

“I’ll keep that mind if I can’t find any on my own.”

“You could let me fix you up.”

“No, blind dates thank you very much.”

“You are getting to be an old spinster.”

“Well, thank you but I am still young enough.” She could hear her aunt balking over the phone. “If that is all, I will see you on Friday.”

A knock on the door and she turned. Tim and Roger were coming through the door. “I got to go. I’ll see you Friday.” She smiled at them. “The calvary arrived at the right time. Aunt Sophia was trying to hook me up on a blind date.” 

Roger laughed. “I’ll send you a bill with the mover fee.” Esther smiled at him. “What are we moving?” Esther pointed to the bed and dresser out of the large room along with several totes in another spare room where she had been storing some of her mother’s things.

“I will go move Goliath out of the way.” They spent the next couple of hours moving stuff around so that it would fit in the garage and still allow Esther to move the truck back in. They were all sitting around the table drinking water and talking about lunch when a car stopped along the front yard.

Esther was looking at stuff to make sandwiches out of the refrigerator when she heard Tim talking to someone.


	18. Esther and Augusta

“Charles, this is a surprise.” Tim spoke to the intruder that had walked on in bringing a younger lady behind him.

“Hello Tim. This is my sister Augusta.” Tim went to shake her hand firmly.

Esther turned to find Charles watching her. “Charles?”

He smiled humorously at her. “Esther.” He glanced over and saw Roger. “Roger.” The door to his room was open and he could see that it had been recently painted and the furniture removed. “Remodeling?”

“Something like that.” Tim answered as he continued to observe Augusta.

“Good, a younger guy to help,” Roger commented. “Although, you missed all the heavy lifting.” Roger went over to shake Augusta’s hand. “Miss Babington?”

Augusta laughed lightly, “Augusta is fine.” She found the older guy charming as he was trying to flirt with her.

“Settle down Roger or I will tell your wife.” Esther quipped at him.

Roger looked at her teasingly. “I’m charging you twice as much now.”

“And suddenly your Facebook page gets quarantined.”

Roger looked at Charles. “I really hate this younger generation and all their technology talk.” Charles could tell the man was teasing her. Roger looked back at Esther. “Well, I think I will just eat when I get back to the museum. Tim, I will see you next week.”

Esther found herself being studied by Augusta but turned her attention back to Charles. “Did you get lost again?”

He laughed and shook his head no.

“It’s my fault we are here.” Augusta spoke to Esther. “He said something about you going on the trail with a guide, and I thought maybe I might tag along? I don’t know anyone that goes hiking.” Charles looked at her with amusement as she knew Sidney.

Esther laughed. “I’m not proficient at it either, but Tim is. He is the guide. You’ll have to ask him.” Augusta turned to look at Tim and found he was still looking at her.

Tim took his time and swallowed slowly. He glanced over at Charles. “I don’t know. Are you coming too?” He hesitated and decided he should clarify. “I mean, it would be better to have an extra set of hands if anything happens.”

“I’m not really an experienced hiker either.”

“Well, then I will have at least three people I can feed to the bears.” 

Charles relaxed. This had been too easy. “As long as Esther doesn’t care. I mean this is her work thing.”

Esther just shrugged her shoulders. “I’m just taking photos, so it doesn’t really make a difference.”

“Might I ask if you are going dressed like that?” He pointed to Charles in his suit and Augusta in her heels. Augusta frowned. She had not thought about it. “A pair of broken in sneakers should be alright for this weekend. Might want to layer some clothes though. It will be chilly in the morning and at night.”

“Well, I have my sneakers in the car. I will need to get some other stuff. Do you have some recommendations?” Augusta replied.

Tim shrugged his shoulders and looked at Esther for suggestions. “You could go to Hikey Mikey in Pidgeon Forge. We are not leaving until Saturday morning though. You might have somewhere closer to your house.”

“We are a little away from home.” Augusta looked at Charles.

“There would be little point going home now just to turn around and drive back.” Something they had talked about over breakfast this morning. They went ahead and rescheduled their Friday’s meetings. “We are over six hours away.”

Tim looked at her. “Where?” He was curious.

“Wilmington.”

Tim looked over at Esther. “Don’t look at me or everyone will be camping in the living room. I’m not dragging the beds back in here.”

“I mean, you all could stay in my cabin. I’ve got plenty of room for everyone.” Esther looked at him. He had not spoken much about his new place. “I bought Darcy’s Place.” 

Esther raised her eyebrow. Financial counseling must be paying good despite current economics.

“Darcy’s Place?” Augusta was intrigued. “As in Mr. Darcy from Pride and Prejudice?”

Tim laughed. “Yes, the former owner was a huge Austen fan. The décor has been changed though to match the cabin feel but I kept the name.” Augusta laughed.

“Is there room for two or four more?” Charles decided it would be good to go ahead and ask for Sidney and Charlotte.

Tim looked back at Esther. “I believe I shall charge guide fees.” Esther rolled her eyes.

“Don’t blame me. I am just taking pictures. You are the one in charge.”

“Sure, why not. The more the merrier as Uncle Jack would say.”

“I doubt Uncle Jack would want a flight of inexperienced hikers.”

“I don’t know,” he gave her a wink, “It would depend on how good looking they were.” Esther let out an exasperated sigh. “Well, why don’t we head to Pigeon Forge and go shopping?” He looked at Esther, “Unless you aren’t ready to go?”

“No, I’ve got everything packed up, except the tent. But it looks like my little tent is not going to cut it.”

“My other friend, Sidney, has tents. Maybe he has one or two.” Charles added to the conversation.

“If not, I know a few people. When can you find out how many of your friends are going?”

“I can go make a call now.” Charles stepped outside to call Sidney.

Esther looked at Augusta who seemed to get a little shy now that Charles was not around. “I take it you are a Jane Austen fan?”

Augusta smiled at her. “Very much so.”

“Your brother said you also liked Drew Barrymore and Adam Sandler movies. Which one is your favorite?”

“Oh, I don’t know if I can pick a favorite, but maybe the Wedding Singer.”

“I like that one too,” Tim chimed in. “I like the music.” Tim smiled at her. Well, if nothing else, Tim found someone interesting.

“Do you work for your brother?” Tim asked her.

“We are in a family business so in some ways yes.” Augusta looked between Esther and Tim. There did not seem to be anything going on between them. “What about you?”

“Financial counseling.” Tim replied.

“What about you Esther?”

“Good question. I was just wrapping up my master’s degree. So, I haven’t really been concentrating on anything.”

“But you like photography?”

“It’s just a hobby really. It doesn’t really pay the bills.” Augusta looked around at the bare walls. “I’ve got some framed prints out in the garage if you want to look.” She led her to the garage.

“These were hanging up?”

“Yeah,” as Augusta moved the frames around, “they were in a guest room.”

“They are all from overseas.”

“I spent a summer there in a work program with some art galleries from England, France, Spain and Italy.”

“They are nice.”

“Thank you.”

“What are you going to do with them now?”

“I don’t know. Their sisters I donated to a nursing home where Uncle Jack resides. There isn’t much interest in these parts for them.”

“Well, their lost.”

“Thank you. Are you sure you really want to go hiking?”

Augusta laughed a little. “Well, I have always wondered what it would be like.” She looked around and saw Charles had gone back in the house with Tim. “Charles seemed more interested though.”

Esther slightly blushed. “Well, I hope his bad luck doesn’t rub off on us, or we will be running into bears.” Augusta laughed.

Esther loaded up her camera gear and camping gear from the garage before walking back in. The three of them were heavy in discussion about the trail. “Trying to discourage them Tim?”

“No,” he smiled at her, “just trying to come up with a game plan on who will be the tribute if we come across the bears.”

“Funny.” Esther loaded her laptop in its bag.

“Still working on your capstone?” Charles asked her.

She looked at him. “Please, I was done two days ago.”

“That was quick.”

“Not my first rodeo.”

Tim laughed. “She means she used some of her other material from her last one.”

Esther glared at him. “Don’t be giving out my secrets.” She walked back to her bedroom to grab her bag. “Ready?”

“I take it we aren’t eating here?” Tim asked her.

“Have you seen her fridge?” Charles asked.

“There’s some stuff in there, but not much. I wasn’t planning on coming back for a few weeks.” Charles gave her a perplexed look. “I’m going to the beach next week.”

“Must be nice to have all this free time,” Tim quipped.

Esther pointed to herself. “Unemployed grad student,” she paused and smiled, “with connections. We can stop in Maggie Valley and see Pop’s. Unless you want to wait until Pigeon Forge, I am however am behind schedule. I should have had lunch over an hour ago.”

“Well, I think Augusta and I would be glad to eat sooner than later.” Charles looked at his sister who was agreeing with him.

“Do I need to write down the address, so you don’t get lost?” Esther teased Charles.

“I don’t think I can get lost in Maggie Valley.”

“Oh, I think you might get lost going around the block.”

“You don’t even know me.” Charles rebuttal her. 

Esther looked at him. “No, but you haven’t got a great track record so far.” He was trying to figure out if she meant him getting detoured or something else. Esther’s cell phone rang.

The cell number was from Major Rally. “Major,”

“Hello, Esther. Is it a good time to call?”

“I’m getting ready to drive to Pigeon Forge.”

“Okay, well, I will keep this short. I just wanted to see how you were doing and if you have a time yet for Friday.”

Esther stepped outside as she talked. “I’ve got photos at five, so it will have to be earlier or later than that.”

“Okay, either works for me. Just let me know.” Esther ended the call and walked back in.

Charles wondered who it was but lucky for him, Tim was the one asked. “Who was that?”

“Major Rally.”

“What did he want?”

“Good lord, I have no idea, other than he’s back in the area.” Esther looked at Tim.

“Are you going back in?”

Esther laughed. “The only thing I’m doing right now is starving. Are we going or not?” They all got up to get in their respective cars.

“Try to keep up,” Tim hollered at them as he climbed in his truck.

“Can I ride with you Esther? I’m sure Charles could use a break from his annoying sister.”

“If you want, contrary to popular belief its more reliable than it looks.”

“It’s not what I meant!” Charles huffed at her.

“Oh, so it was my driving you were worried about?”

Charles laughed. “Never mind, I take it back.”

Esther laughed as she closed the door.

Augusta started the conversation between her and Esther. “Can I ask you something?”

Esther glanced over to her, “What is that?”

“Is there anything going on between you and Tim?”

Esther laughed out loud. “No, we just have been friends for a long time. Why?”

“Oh, I was simply curious. Is he your age?”

“No, he’s older. Just what are you really wanting to know?” Esther decided to just ask her outright.

Augusta flushed. “I was just trying to figure people out.”

“Hmm. Well, he is from Saint Lucia. I met him during high school when he was a coordinator for foreign exchange students. We get along, not to mention, he’s a mathematical wizard, which came in handy for some of my advanced math classes.”

“Have you dated him?”

“I don’t know if I would call it dating but we did hang out a lot. He used to write me when I left for the military.”

“You used to be in the service.”

“Yes,” Esther spent a little time explaining it to her. “He’s a good guy but,”

“You aren’t attracted to him.”

“Oh, he’s a good-looking sort. Just, I do not know. Maybe not challenging enough?”

“You like someone not attainable?”

“No,” Esther looked at her again, “I’m not really sure I’m looking for anyone.”

“But what if the right guy was to come along?”

Esther laughed at her. “You must not have been through a bad break up.”

Augusta flushed, “Well, no, but I have dated plenty.”

“Well dating and getting your heart ripped out are two separate things. Talk to me then.”

“You sound,”

“Realistic. Sorry, it’s been a rough few year.”

“So, you aren’t dating anyone now?”

Esther was getting frustrated. “No,” Esther replied but mentally added ‘and not looking.’ Esther wanted to change the subject. “You like Jane Austen?”

“Yes, love her novels. Have you read any of hers?”

“Yes, Pride and Prejudice seems to be my favorite although I like her others as well. It’s a shame she didn’t get to finish Sanditon.”

“I don’t think I read that one. You read anything else?”

Esther laughed glad that the conversation was away from relationships. “Yes, usually before I go hiking, I read “A Walk in the Woods,” by Bill Bryson. Although, it tends to discourage me.” Esther looked at her. “The writer retails his own adventure on the trail along with history tidbits. I brought the copy with me if you would like to look at it.”

“Yes, I think I will.” They arrived at their destination.


	19. An Unmitigated Disaster

A hostess greeted Tim warmly, “Hi Tim.” A young lady probably barely legal as Charles looked at her. “Oh, on a double date?”

Esther rolled her eyes. Tim laughed. “Hi Kitty, you know Esther. She isn’t dating anyone.” She squinted her eyes at him and scrunched up her nose. “The other two, Charles and his sister Augusta, are going on the trail. I’m their guide.”

“Lucky them.”

“Unless they get eaten by bears,” Esther commented.

Kitty looked back over the new pair, “well, follow me.” She led them to a table the outlooked the creek behind the restaurant. “Can I get you something to drink?” Holly wandered off to put their drink order in. Esther kicked Tim lightly under the table.

“Ow.” He glared at Esther. “What was that for?”

“Sorry, just stretching my legs.” Esther commented as if she did it accidentally.

“Your legs aren’t that long.” Esther gave him a smirking smile.

Kitty was back. “Jennifer will be over to get your food order. When are you going on the trail?” She was looking at Tim. Esther leaned back in the chair while taking a sip.

Tim looked at her, “This weekend.”

“Should be good weather.” Jennifer was approaching. “See you later.”

Tim looked at Esther. “What?”

“Kitty Bennett?”

Tim laughed. “Her father is my client.” Tim looked at Charles then Augusta. “They own several restaurants in the area. I am just being polite. Something you don’t know how to do.”

“Whatever.” She pulled the menu up to look like she was not sure what to order. Lunch came quickly and they were back on the road in hardly anytime.

“How was your ride with Esther?” Charles asked her as they drove out of town.

“Interesting.”

“How so?”

Augusta mused. “Are you asking me for information?”

“Well, yes.”

“What if I told you I had to agree to an NDA?”

Charles looked at her. “You would be lying.”

“What?”

“You don’t lie very well. Besides, you owe me since you took the note out of my hand.”

Augusta smirked at him. “Fine. I asked her if she was interested in Tim.” He looked at her and she gave him a chuckle. “She’s not. She actually said she wasn’t dating anyone right now.” Augusta decided to leave off that she was not looking. She could tell there was a little something between Charles and Esther. He should be able to figure her out to change her mind. “We also talked about Jane Austen.”

“Great.”

Augusta laughed. “Well, at least I have some knowledge that you don’t. I might give you a book to read to help you out.”

“Oh, so now I need your help?” She smiled sweetly at him.

Charles was surprised at the cabin when they followed Tim up a private drive. To say it was massive was an understatement. Esther pulled Goliath in the extra garage.

“Got your own parking spot?” Charles asked her as she got out.

“Just temporary. He told me he had extra space. I’ve not been here before.” She did not know why she felt like she had to defend herself.

Tim walked over to Charles. “So, your friends coming tonight?”

“No, tomorrow. Sidney and Charlotte, so only two more to the trail.” Tim hollered at Esther to help him with the tents from the storage area. “These accommodate four easy, and I have two, so we should need them to bring their own unless there is some other arrangement that I don’t know about.”

Charles hoped Esther did not seem him flush. “No, this should work fine.” 

“Alright, well let me show you to your rooms. If you want to head in town tonight to get stuff, I suggest sooner, or we can do it tomorrow?”

“I’ve got some stuff in Gatlinburg tomorrow, so I will be out most of the afternoon.” Esther said out loud to no one in particular.

“Got a date?”

Esther glared at him. “No. Aunt Sophia asked me to stop by and I got a photo gig at 5 if you must know.”

“What about Major?”

Esther rolled her eyes. “I have no idea what he wants.”

“A date.” Tim quipped back. Esther was about to say something back, like ‘not everyone wants a date’ but then she knew Tim would come back with another quip about a one-night stand.

“Doubtful, but since you are so worried, you can come to meet him.”

Tim smiled at her. “Good.”

“You are an ass somedays.” Esther mumbled as she went into the first room available.

Charles and Augusta took the next two rooms. “Your friends can have the rooms downstairs.”

“Is your room upstairs?”

Tim smiled at her. “Yes, it can be sectioned off like a separate apartment since it has its own entrance which comes in handy.” Each of them had their own private bath. After settling themselves into their respective rooms, they met down in the living area.

Charles found Esther outside on the wrap around deck. “It has a beautiful view.”

“It does.”

“Peaceful too.”

“How observant.”

“Someone is grumpy.”

She gave him a glance.

He got worried and spoke quietly, “If you don’t want us here,”

Esther let out a loud sigh. “No, it’s alright. Tim is irritating me, that is all.”

Tim and Augusta joined them. “So, town tonight?”

Augusta replied, “Probably best that way if we need something extra, we will have tomorrow.”

“I’ll drive,” Tim replied.

“Good, because Goliath gets horrible gas mileage.” They loaded up in the truck. Charles sat with Tim. Esther looked at her phone while Tim was driving.

“Checking your profile on E Harmony?”

“What?” Esther looked at him in disbelief. “Did you build me one?”

“Maybe.”

“Good grief, I am really beginning to hate you.” Esther glared at the back of his head. “You need to find a new hobby.”

“Oh, but this is so much more enjoyable.”

“You are as bad as Aunt Sophia.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment. Live a little.” 

Tim looked at Charles. “Aunt Sophia likes to play match maker. She matched an older couple recently and now she thinks she excels at it.”

“I doubt she really had that much influence.” Esther mumbled. 

Augusta looked at her. “Do you like your aunt?”

“She’s a little intimidating but she’s alright. Well, if you can keep her out of your personal life.”

“Did she try to match you?” Augusta was curious.

“Augusta.” Charles warned her. Augusta understood the tone. “Sorry, Esther. My sister is,”

“Inquisitive. Reminds me of her brother.” She smiled lightly at the young lady next to her. Esther let out a little breath. 

Luckily, Tim pulled into the parking lot. “We have arrived.” They all walked into the store.

“Tim!” Joe called out to him.

“Hey Joe.”

Joe walked over and appraised Tim’s company. “What brings you by?”

“Charles and Augusta will be checking out the trail for the first time. Need some stuff. You should remember Esther.”

Esther gave him half a smile. “Esther, I haven’t seen you around since,”

“Yes, been busy.”

“Well, let me go help out the newbies. I’ll catch up with you later.” 

Esther looked at Tim. “Can you tone it down? I’m really don’t need to be reminded I’m not dating.”

“Sorry. I’m just nervous.”

“Nervous?”

“Ah, yeah, I mean just look at his sister.” They looked over to where Joe was helping Charles and Augusta.

“Well, then why not try to impress her instead of berating your friend?” Tim smiled at her before joining Charles and Augusta.

Charles gingerly walked over to her. “I’m sorry about Augusta.”

Esther looked at him. “It’s fine. Really.”

“What about this?” He held up a plaid shirt.

“Are you trying to be a lumber jack?”

“Is it that bad?”

“Let me guess, you have someone that dresses you?”

He laughed lightly. “Well, I am used to just dressing in suits for work.”

“It shows.”

“I haven’t heard any complaints.” Charles held his gaze at her. Esther realized she was holding her breath.

“Oh, that is horrid,” Joe was back over. “Here, go try these.” He handed Charles some stuff and pointed to the dressing room not too far off. Esther let out her breath. “So, where have you been Esther? Scott deployed?” Augusta had walked out of the dressing room.

Esther looked at Joe. “Back home and no.”

“I’m sorry, I just thought you guys were,”

Tim decided to intervene. “Joe, I need your help.” Augusta looked at Esther who was holding back some emotion.

“Esther? What do you think about this?” Esther swallowed and turned to the young girl.

“Does it feel comfortable when you sit and stand?”

“No.”

“Then, no. There may be times you will not be walking. You can either try the next size or something else.”

Joe was back over. “Um, maybe the next size.”

“I’ll get it.” Tim hollered.

Joe looked at Esther, “Sorry Esther.”

“It’s okay.” She left Joe there.

Tim brought Augusta the other clothes and stood with Joe. “Man, I wish you would have given me a heads up. I feel like a real jerk.”

“I didn’t think about it. I was distracted.”

Joe raised his eyebrow and Tim pointed to the dressing room where Augusta was at. Joe laughed out loud. Charles came out. “Well?” he asked the guys.

Joe looked at him, “It’ll work.” A few more recommendations and they were all set for the moment. They found Esther sitting outside on a bench.

“Ready? Tim asked her. “Want to hear something funny?”

“I’m dying with anticipation.” She smirked at him.

“Augusta and Charles have decided to cook dinner.” Esther looked at the pair of siblings as they joined them and headed towards the truck.

“Really?” She smiled at them. “And what is dinner?”

“That would ruin the surprise.”

Esther looked at Tim. “Maybe we should buy more snacks just in case.”

“Hey, I can cook.” Charles huffed at her.

“Well, then I will be impressed.”

“Better than a ham sandwich.” Charles quipped at her.

“Hey, it was not my fault you didn’t make reservations.” 

His eyes glittered with amusement. “You aren’t online.”

“It keeps me from a hostile takeover.”

“Acquisitions are not always hostile.”

“Hmm, so you say. Aunt Sophia would beg to differ. She’s been fighting one for a few years.” Charles looked at Augusta. The acquisition that their father had started before he decided to retire.

“Maybe, there’s more to it.” Augusta interjected. Their business dealings with Sophia Denham could potentially come between Esther and Charles.

“Maybe. It’s not my background.”

“And just what is?” Augusta asked.

“Accounting.”

“But you run a B-N-B.” Esther smiled at her.

“Yeah, can’t really call it that.”

“I’d say.” Charles chimed in.

“Hey, you got a clean bed and running water. Oh, and a free movie and a party. If you would have ended up at Betty Sue’s cabin, you would only had one of those.”

“My apologies.”

“That’s better.”

“We need to stop at the store if we are cooking.” Charles mentioned to Tim as they exited the parking lot. Groceries procured, they headed back to the cabin. Charles and Augusta took over the kitchen while Tim and Esther went outside on the deck. Esther decided to take some photos outside. Tim glanced back at them.

“You worried they are going to burn the place down?” Esther asked him.

“No, just curious.”

“Curious about dinner or by Augusta?”

He smiled at Esther. “Both.” Esther laughed.

They put something in the oven and walked outside with them. “About 40 minutes.” Augusta told them.

“How long have you been here?” Augusta asked Tim.

“Oh, just a few months ago. It is an investment really. I am only going to stay until next spring, then rent it out. I’m hoping to move to a bigger city.” He looked at her. “Bigger city, more clients.”

“And what about you Esther? You like living in a small town?” Augusta asked her.

Esther shrugged. “I’ve lived in both. They both have their merits.”

“Or cons.” Tim quipped.

“Or cons.” Esther agreed. “The country has better views; the city has better opportunities. I guess it just depends on the mood.”

“You better get back to work.” Tim added, “if you are going to have both.”

Esther looked at him. “Work? That sounds dreadful.”

“Says every other person in the world.”

“I’ll get there. I am just not in a hurry. You are just jealous.”

“Yes, everyone needs an Aunt Sophia.”

“You have no idea.” Esther looked back out over the railing. Aunt Sophia would help but she really would not hand out money like that. Scott had left her money, which she heavily invested and put into savings after she had paid what little student loans she had. The stay after her incident, that cost her a bit, far worth it though. It had given her the structure like the military, which she needed to break the spiral. Her accounting background helped her to budget. She did not want to rely on the money she still had.

Augusta’s timer on her phone went off. “Let me go check. I’ll be back.” She pulled the trays out of the oven. She came back outside. “I believe dinner is ready.”

They sat the salad bowl on the table and gave each one a pot pie. Charles asked Tim what he wanted to drink. He opted for a beer, while Augusta and Charles had a glass of wine. Charles sat an orange cream bottle in front of Esther.

She raised her eyebrow at him, and he smiled. “I can be observant.” She let out a little laugh.

“Ah, but did you really make these or did Marie?”

“Marie?”

“Marie Calendars? You know frozen pot pies.”

“My feelings are hurt.” He feigned looking hurt at the suggestion.

“Well, her’s are pretty good, so I’m not sure you’ll meet the standard.”

“Can you eat before you start passing judgement?”

“And you were calling me grumpy.”

The newly acquainted friends ate and talked about the trail.

“Well?” Charles asked them.

Esther looked at Tim. “You know how to make pot pies.” Tim answered for them. “I guess since the both of you cooked, then Esther and I will clean.”

“Deal.” Charles and Augusta stayed in the open area that consisted of the kitchen, dining and living room. Charles watched how easy they interacted between each other. Augusta let out a little cough and gave him an inquisitive look. Tim had turned on the radio, so she spoke lightly.

“I know what you are thinking about.”

Charles chuckled at her. “Doubtful sister.”

“They have been friends for a long time.”

Charles let out a sigh. He watched Esther’s face transform at something funny Tim had said. Her phone rang and she stepped outside to take the call. Tim turned off the radio and turned on the television. He handed the remote to Augusta. She gave him a smile as she scrolled through the movie list. The door was still open between the deck and the living room and it allowed for bits of the conversation to flow in.

“Yes, I’m not home.”

“No, I’m in Pigeon Forge for a couple of days. No, I’m at Tim’s.”

“Good grief, Edward, you are driving me crazy.”

“Fine, tomorrow at one.” She hung up the phone. Esther felt like tossing it over the railing. Edward would not be happy until he got what he wanted. She walked back in and found Augusta had a movie playing, Top Gun. Esther looked and decided to get another soda before heading back out. She did not want to connect the movie to her memory of losing Scott. Tim handed Augusta a bowl of popcorn and a bottle of beer. Charles took his bottle outside and went to find Esther.

He found her sitting on old metal glider bench. “You don’t like Tom Cruise?”

Esther smiled. “He’s okay.” Charles sat down. “Just don’t want to watch Top Gun.”

Charles thought out loud, “Is that because of Scott?” He cringed inwardly.

Esther looked at him in disbelief. She whispered, “What?” Charles realized he said something he should not have.

He knew he would have to start talking fast. “I met your Aunt at a business meeting in Asheville. She mentioned some guy named Scott.” Both were true facts.

Esther narrowed her eyes at him. “Which meeting?”

Charles had hoped to avoid the topic, but it seemed he put his foot in it. “Augusta met her at a meet and greet.” Another fact.

“And just how did I get caught up in the mix?”

Charles let out a silent groan. He should just come out and tell her, but if he did, it was highly likely the weekend was going to be tense. If he did not and she found out, it would probably be worse. “I don’t suppose we can just agree not to talk about business right now?”

Esther thought to say no but changed her mind. “Fine. I won’t asked you about business with Sophia and you won’t ask me about Scott.” Charles was about to say something when he realized it was probably the best outcome he was going to get, even though he wanted to know more.

“Fine.” He could feel her relax slightly. “So, you are meeting Edward tomorrow?”

“Do you always listen to other people’s phone conversations?” Nope, she was still irritated.

“It was a little hard not to hear it. The door was open. If you wanted it to be a private conversation, perhaps you should have chosen somewhere more secluded.”

Esther let out an exuberated sigh. “He wants to take Clara to meet Sophia.”

“Is that a bad thing?”

Esther shrugged. “Not really. In fact, it is probably better that way. I’m not sure why she wanted me to stop by, unless she is up to her old tactics.”

“Her old tactics?”

Esther let out breath through her nose and took another drink. “Matchmaker.” She leaned back. “She had arranged for me to meet Scott.”

A tidbit of information, Charles mused, but dared not to ask anything about. He agreed not to ask her anything but if she volunteered the information, it was a whole different ball game. “So, you think she is trying to set you up?”

Esther laughed. “She can’t help it. She’s an old romantic at heart.”

Charles leaned back as well after taking a sip from his bottle. Half in fear, he decided to be brave. He looked at her. She had her eyes closed as she leaned against the back of the glider. “So, would you?”

“Would I what?”

“Go on a date.” Well, this had the potential of making the trail real awkward. What if she said no? It was too late though as he already spoken the thought out loud.

The silence outside was deafening. The sound of the movie though could be heard through the open doorway. Tim and Augusta laughing. Esther pursed her lips in concentration. Was he making a statement or asking a question?

“Well, she does have a decent track record.” Esther mused out loud.

Charles hesitated and took a breath but leaned in anticipation. “I’m serious.” He spoke softly. He realized how much he wanted her to say yes. Esther turned to look at him. 

Definitely asking by the look, Esther realized. ‘He’s crazy!’ the thought popped in her mind. She had several thoughts that followed, from his statement about pinning away about Peter and there was something about the business with Aunt Sophia.

He blew it, he thought. From saying she was pinning over Peter and then not discussing what was going on with Sophia, he tried to look more relaxed for the blow that she was about to deal him.

Esther shrugged her shoulders. “It would no doubt be an unmitigated disaster,” she paused ever so slightly before adding, “between your unfortunate events and my history.” The response surprised him as much it had surprised herself internally. The tone was hard to interpret.

Was that a no or a yes? Charles thought to himself. It was not a flat-out refusal but also implied it would not work out. “Is that your way of saying no?” Or was she teasing him? Good grief, she was confounding as it seemed she was always trying to avoid answering some questions. “Or was that a yes?”

“If you wish to waste your time.” Esther quipped.

“Then I shall.” He could tell he was grinning like a fool, but he did not care. He was feeling confident and almost thought of kissing her. But before he let his feeling take flight or ask when, he was being called from inside the house.

“Charles, your phone is ringing,” Augusta commented as she was bringing the phone out onto the deck. She gave him an apologetic look as she realized she had interrupted something. Charles got up and took the call as it was from his assistant and knew it had to be about the acquisition.

“Sorry Mr. Babington,” Sarah’s voice trembled on the other line. He inwardly groaned. “I got a call from Mrs. Denham’s lawyer about some paperwork that needed to be addressed. I sent a copy of it to your email, but haven’t gotten a response, so I wanted to make sure you got it.”

“Let me take a look and I will let you know.” He hung up the phone. Well, that certainly put a damper on the moment. He turned to find Esther had gone back in the house and was sitting with Augusta and Tim.

“Everything alright Charles?” Augusta asked him.

“I’ve got something I got to look at for work. I’ll be back.” He went upstairs to his room to grab his laptop. As he came down, it was apparent Augusta and Tim were having some debatable discussion on what to watch next. Esther was ignoring them as she was looking through the photos stored on her camera. Whatever she came across must have been pleasant as she had a happy look about her. He sat down at the table and checked out his inbox.

He quickly called Sarah back. “I’ve got it. I will work on it and it will have it back to you in the morning. You will need to have the legal team look it over and send it back as soon as possible. It’s got to be in Gatlinburg tomorrow.” It was mostly minor details, but it was going to take a bit to finish. Charles let out a sigh. He definitely was not going to get the moment back now.

Augusta got up to get another beer and to see what was going on. “You want my help?” she asked.

“There’s no point in both of us working on it. There’s just some minor changes.” He looked over to where Esther was showing something in the camera to Tim who was laughing. “Go enjoy the rest of the evening.” Augusta smiled at him and then raised an inquisitive eyebrow at him. He was smiling like an idiot she thought which means at the very least, she must have said yes to a date. 

Tim looked at Augusta as she held out another bottle to him. He smiled at her. Esther rolled her eyes as she looked down at her camera. It would not take much more, and Tim will be trying to serenade Augusta. She hoped Augusta knew what she was getting herself in to. After a heated discussion about the next movie selection, Esther decided to call it a night. She wanted a moment of peace. The discussion reminded her why she had enjoyed her peace and quiet.

“And where are you going?” Tim asked her. 

“I’ve got to get the cameras ready for tomorrow and I got to send Roger some stuff.”

“You are such an old person.”

“I know.” She could feel all of them watch her go upstairs. She closed the door to her room and let out a sigh. She was not sure she was ready to date. The whole notion made her queasy. Why did she say yes? Esther plugged her camera into the laptop and started to download the photos. While it was doing its thing, she got her clothes prepped for tomorrow and went to take a shower.


	20. An Apology

Charles could feel the eyes on him as he was typing away. He kept his focus on the laptop until he found Tim and Augusta sitting on each side of him. “If you don’t mind, I’m trying to work.”

Augusta placed her head in her hand as she leaned towards him. Tim just leaned back in the chair. “How long is this going to take you?” She asked him. 

He laughed. “Well, if you keep bothering me, all night.” Charles briefly looked up. “This has got to get done tonight so please stop trying to distract me.”

Tim looked at Augusta but stood back up. He snickered but went back to the couch. Augusta gave up and went back to join him. Charles continued to plow away at the keyboard. Sometime had passed and he looked up. Apparently, Augusta had cuddled up and was sleeping next to Tim. Probably one too many beers he thought. Tim got up when he realized Charles was no longer working. He gathered up the bottles and placed them in his recycle bin.

“You might want to wake her up instead of trying to carry her up the stairs. Trust me, they are a bear to climb with just one person, let alone two.” Tim looked at him. “Or you can just leave her downstairs on the couch.”

“I’ll wake her up. She’s horrid if she doesn’t get a goodnight sleep.” Charles commented while Tim laughed. Gently waking her up, he helped her back to her room for the night. He went back downstairs to get his laptop and phone. Tim retired to his own room. Charles looked upstairs before he went back up. Certainly, Esther had gone to bed by now. A wicked thought occurred to him, but he forced himself to calm down. He let out a small sigh as he walked past her room.

Esther quickly sorted the photos that were downloaded into appropriate folders. She had not realized some of the photos were that old. She had frozen when her eye had caught the oldest one. It was one from the café with Scott. Esther let out a deep sigh. There was no point in staring at the photo, but she could not stop. This was obviously a memory card that she must have quickly grabbed when getting the camera ready for the museum. She left the laptop open and sat it next to her. She gazed at the photo until she was fast asleep.

Waking early, Esther found the laptop had died sometime in the middle of the night. She let out a breath. ‘Well at least I don’t need it for today.’ She thought to herself. She plugged it in and set it on the dresser to charge while she went out for a walk. It was quiet throughout the house. She thought Tim might have been awake to go with her, but she was not sure how things went after she had went to her room. She did not want to knock on the door to find he had company. She put her earbuds in, turned on her music and headed out the door.

The area around Darcy’s Place was tranquil. Heavily wooded, the streets were recently paved, and Esther saw new cabins being built. She came across a walking trail not too far and followed it to its destination. It weaved around bends and turns until it came across an overlook. It was landscaped well, complete with several benches for walkers to take advantage of the scenery. Esther sat on a bench and stared off into the distance.

Tim got up early although as he found Esther’s room unoccupied, not early enough. A reply to his text message and he found out that she had taken a walk this morning while the rest of them were still sleeping. He saw her laptop opened on the dresser. He was looking at the photos when Charles had come by.

“Do you always go snooping in your guests’ quarters?” Charles asked him lightly.

Tim laughed. “No, but I was nosey today. She had found some old photos us on the camera and I was hoping to send a couple of them to my email while she was out.”

Curiosity apparently came in pairs as Charles wanted to see the photos himself. “These are from a trip to Wrightsville Beach. Dr. Evers has a house there. We were determined to win the sandcastle competition that year.”

“You both look younger.”

“Yeah, this must have been around the time her stepdad died. I don’t know maybe before or just after.”

“You’ve been friends for some time then?”

“Yes, then she left for the military and came back a different person. She was extremely quiet as I recall. The military made her more outgoing if not stubborn.” Tim scrolled down and picked out the photos he wanted. The cursor stopped at the last photo. Both looked at the photo of a young Esther standing next to the guy.

“Who is that?” Charles asked but deep down he already knew the answer.

“That would be Scott although somehow I think you already knew that.” A voice from the doorway replied. Esther stood against the door frame; her face brisk from the walk back. Both turned to face her. “And I’m not stubborn. Currently, I would say hostile.” Tim retreated first, mumbling an apology as he left. 

Charles for his part knew that he should apologize. Of all the stupid things, he thought. “Would you believe me if I said I was sorry?”

“Sorry you got caught or sorry you were snooping?”

Would she believe him if he said he had followed Tim in there? Would it even matter? “Yes?” he replied. He had a moment of panic and thought oddly enough of Uncle Jack. ‘Passion for hurt feelings,’ is what he told him. Did he hurt her feelings by snooping? He had finally got her to at least agree to a date. How would she respond? They were on uneasy ground. He stepped that way towards her. He could completely ruin what little progress he had made. He put his hand against the door that was behind her, slightly blocking her from going one way. He took a gamble and took his other free hand against her cheek and kissed her. Gentle enough to keep himself from pushing to fast, but deep enough for her to know how he felt. It was a double edge sword that he was teetering on. She had not revolted, but he knew he could not keep kissing her either.

He ended by putting a kiss on her forehead, mumbled an apology and headed downstairs. Esther was slightly disorientated from the experience and stood against the door as she heard his footsteps go down the stairs. The smell of his cologne still lingered in the air. Her fingers tingled against her lips. He knew how to make an apology.

She closed her door to take a shower. Her pulse returned to its normal pace as she brushed her teeth. She found herself blushing in the mirror thinking about the kiss. Good grief, she thought to herself, get yourself together.

She stood outside the shower and quickly dried off. She glanced at the laptop as she got dressed for the day. Business casual in grey tones. She Dutch braided her hair. She turned her attention back to the laptop. Apparently, Tim had sent himself some photos. She looked at the email. They were from the beach just prior to her meeting Scott. The sandcastle competition from Wrightsville Beach. A smile played against her lips. They both had found the photo of Scott and her in front of the café. Scott had a knowing grin on his face. It appeared he had no doubt of what her answer would be. He was her Mr. Bingley and she was his Jane Bennett.

Esther gathered up her camera and put the blank memory card back in its place. She gathered up the camera bag and a few of the extra lenses she knew she would need. Her phone beeped. Major Rally. Whatever was weighing on his mind had kept him in contact. Edward at one, photos at five. She could meet him before or after. Esther knew Aunt Sophia could end up talking for some time. Now, she would have to meet with Rally before seeing Aunt Sophia or after the photo shoot.

Of course, there was the whole other situation to deal with now. Was she just supposed to pretend he had not kissed her? Did he expect her to act differently now? This is exactly why she hated this. She had only just agreed to go on a date. Normally, she would not kiss a guy before the date. Heck, poor Scott. He had waited a long time before he even tried to kiss her.

So confusing. She still had to get through this weekend. She buckled her dress sandals. Dressy enough to wear with her outfit, comfortable enough to be in them all day. She texted Rally back with a time and headed downstairs. She took her stuff directly to Goliath. She turned to find Tim had followed her out to the garage.

“I take it you are driving separately?”

“I don’t think you all need to see Aunt Sophia. She’ll probably be in a mood once Edward shows up.”

“Do I still get to meet Rally?”

Esther shrugged.

“Oh, come on. I was just getting photos from the sandcastle competition.”

“You could have just asked.”

“I could have but I didn’t.”

“You are being a real jerk so far.”

“But that’s why you love me.” Esther knew she could not stay mad at him. She let out a little laugh.

“I always knew you were delusional.”

“So, when are you meeting Rally?”

“Noon. He said it was just a quick meeting.”

“Where?”

“The restaurant in front of the aquarium, in the bar.”

Tim smiled at her. “See that wasn’t so hard.” Esther rolled her eyes at him.


	21. What is Love

Esther looked over and saw Augusta cheerfully walking into the garage. “Good morning,” she beamed towards them although Esther saw that her eyes were lingering over to Tim.

Tim replied just as cheerfully. Esther was glad there was more people going on this excursion this weekend, or it was bound to get real embarrassing.

“Esther, I was wondering if you had that book?”

“Which book?” Tim asked

Esther smiled at him.

“Not a Walk in the Woods,” Tim grumbled. “She’ll change her mind.”

Esther laughed. “I doubt it.” Esther looked at her watch.

“When are you heading into Gatlinburg?” Tim asked her.

“Soon.” It was a vague answer. 

“And I still get to go?” Tim asked. Esther at least seemed no longer mad. He mused and wondered what Charles had said after he left.

“Go where?” Charles asked realizing they had left him alone in the house.

“To meet Major Rally in Gatlinburg.” Tim replied looking at Esther. Esther took a deep breath. Why was Tim being so annoying? 

Charles mused, the mystery guy. “So, when are you meeting him?” 

“Pretty soon.” Tim replied. Esther was trying not to make eye contact with Charles. Good lord she was flustered.

“Can I get that book before you go?” Augusta asked her.

“Sure, let me go get it.” Esther managed to get out of the garage without too much embarrassment.

“You know, Augusta and I have to drop off a contract in Gatlinburg. Maybe, we could all go?” Charles asked Tim.

Tim looked at both of them, “I don’t know if Esther will want all of us intruding on her like that.”

“Like what?” Esther came back in and handed the book to Augusta.

Charles took a breath, slightly worried he had overstepped his apology. “Well, it’s just Augusta and I have some other business in Gatlinburg, I just thought we could all go.” He watched Esther’s facial expression, but it was neutral. “I mean, there is plenty to do around there. We can all split up.”

Esther looked at Tim. “Well, I’m still driving. I have got the photo shoot later. I have no idea on when I will get done.” It sounded like a reasonable answer and it could buy her some alone time.

“Fine,” Tim answered. “I’ll drive since I know my way around. What was the name of that restaurant?”

“No Way Jose, if I remembered it correctly.” Esther answered him.

Aptly named, Charles thought to himself. “Augusta, do you have everything?”

“It’s all on the table I think.” Charles gave a glance at Esther before following Augusta in.

Esther let out her breath. “What’s going on?” Tim asked.

“What do you mean?” Esther asked him as she went to hit the button to raise the garage door.

“I mean you were angry earlier and now I feel like you seem,” Tim paused, “flustered.”

Esther almost snorted. “I am not.” She quipped back knowing she had a slight blush coming on her cheeks. Tim gave her a look that replied to his disagreement as Augusta and Charles came back in.

Tim reached into a basket by the door. “Here, take the clicker for later.” Esther took it from him and placed it in the door of her truck.

“Can I ride with you?” Augusta looked at Esther. Augusta knew Charles had probably wanted to, but she was not ready to be quite so alone with Tim yet.

“At least someone isn’t scared of Goliath.” Esther laughed as she got in and Augusta climbed into the passenger seat.

“I guess that means you are with me.” Tim looked at Charles.

Tim was barely out of the driveway when he glanced over to Charles. “What in the world did you do to Esther?”

Charles laughed. “What do you mean?”

“Please, I’ve seen Esther mad which is what she was when she found us in her room. Definitely not mad now though.” Charles blushed. 

“It wasn’t like that.” Charles looked at Tim. “Why, did she say something?” 

Tim let out a chuckle. “I’m not talking until you tell me what happened.”

“What makes you think anything happened?” Charles waited. Tim glanced at him with a smirk and turned on the radio. Charles let out a breath. “Fine, I kissed her.”

“Man, you move quick.” Tim thought out loud.

“It was just a kiss.”

“Must have been some damn kiss. I don’t think I’ve seen her that flustered since,” Tim thought it over, “well, I guess since Scott.” Charles perked up his attention.

“Not Peter?”

“Well, truth be told, I wasn’t around a whole lot when Peter was.” Tim thought back.

“You weren’t?”

“Peter and I didn’t get along. I knew the guy was a dirt bag and it just caused so much tension. Esther couldn’t take it, so I went my own way until she realized it too.” Tim gave Charles a look. 

“And now you are back.”

“I was never really gone. She always knows she can count on me. I’m always on her side.” Charles took that as a warning.

“You are quiet this morning.” Esther looked at Augusta as they rolled down the road. “What happened after I went to my room last night?”

Augusta looked sad. “Nothing. Nothing happened.”

“So, you are mad that nothing happened?”

“What?” Esther caught the blush on Augusta’s face. Augusta turned to look out the window. “Well, if you must know, I feel asleep on the couch next to Tim and then Charles woke me up to get me to my room.” Augusta let out what sounded like a little huff.

Esther laughed.

“I don’t see how this was funny.”

“Augusta, how old are you?”

“I’m twenty-one.”

Esther took a deep breath. “I’m sure Tim was just being a gentleman, especially,” Esther winked at Augusta when she looked at her, “since your brother was in the house. I mean, he obviously is attracted to you.”

“It’s just that when you and Charles were outside, I just thought there was some connection.”

Esther wanted to roll her eyes. Oh, those days, she mused. Not that she really had a lot of those days. She had been attracted to Scott, but he was not one to do anything crazy to ruin his time at the academy. He had finally stolen a kiss on the Farris wheel when he had surprised her with a visit at his parent’s beach house. Up until that point, she just figured she had a good-looking friend. Both their jobs in the military kept them apart a lot. She had not thought about long distance relationships until that moment. By that time, they already had a good solid foundation built with their friendship. To be fair, she was mostly drinking when she had seen Peter and when she had some lapse in judgement, more than some as Esther reflected.

“Why are you frowning?” Augusta asked her.

“Sorry, just reflecting.”

“Can I ask you something?”

Esther silently sighed. “What would that be?”

“What’s it like?”

“What is what like?”

“Love.”

Esther looked at her. “Are you telling me you haven’t had a steady boyfriend?”

Augusta let out a giggle. “No, not really. My parents are pretty particular on who I date.”

“Aren’t you a little old to be worried about that?”

Augusta sighed. “It’s complicated. I’ve had some short-term boyfriends but I’m really busy.” Augusta smiled at Esther. “I’ve been basically interning in Virginia to learn some business ropes.”

“So, you don’t live here in the state?”

Augusta laughed. “No, I’m actually living in Roanoke now, for at least another six months.”

“Then where?”

“Wherever Charles decides to send me to. He’s the boss.”

“Ah yes, the family business, if I remember correctly.”

“Yeah, he took over my father’s position a few years ago and my father retired.”

“Where do they live?”

“Oh, good question. They travel a lot right now. My father actually retired last year but they have a place not far from Charles that they stay at.”

“And how do you like working for your brother?”

Augusta laughed. “Well, luckily as we are in separate companies, he’s not always standing over my shoulder but he is in charge of it overall which is why he gets to dictate what part of the company I am working at.” Esther mused, explains the company car if they have multiple businesses.

“So, back to my question.”

Esther pursed her lips while looking out the window.

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have asked.” Augusta looked at Esther. “It’s just, well, I can’t ask Charles and all of my other friends well, I don’t really see as I have been concentrating so much at work.”

“You seem close to your brother, certainly he has had his own experiences.”

Augusta looked amused. “Oh, well, I mean, he’s dated a lot, but I don’t know if you would say he ever had a serious relationship. He’s busier than I am and well, most women are either not interested in a man that can’t always be with them all the time, after a promotion, or his money.” Money, Esther mused. It probably confused him when she did not email him a bill.

Esther sighed. What is love like? “Well, my Uncle Jack would say love is many different things. It is like a cup of hot chocolate on a cold winter night, a brisk dip in the ocean on a hot day, the smell of fresh cut flowers. Everyone has their own opinion what love is. Of course,” Esther looked over at Augusta and winked, “he also would say it’s the feeling after making up after a fight knowing that the other person would rather still be with you more than anyone else.” Augusta blushed. “And he would know, he used to fight with my aunt all the time. But he was happy. He also brought her flowers everyday he was on his way home from work.” Esther smiled at the memory. “Of course,” Esther laughed, “his last job was cutting grass for the local cemetery, so.”

“That’s horrible.”

“I’m joking. He worked for the courthouse after he retired from the military.” 

Augusta laughed. “Well, I am relieved. I think I might like your uncle.”

“Well, he’s available, if you need a sugar daddy. My aunt had died some time ago.”

“You are terrible.” Esther laughed. It felt good.


	22. A Cup of Hot Chocolate

“So, the breakup with Peter must have been pretty bad.”

“Well, it was ugly but nothing really to compare it to when Scott died.”

“What do you mean?” 

Tim looked at Charles as he pulled into the parking spot. “I mean,” Tim let out a deep breath, “there is a reason why she doesn’t drink.” Charles continued to look at Tim. “I can’t even begin to explain it. Nor is it really my place.” Charles knew that was the end of that conversation.

Charles looked at his map on his phone. It was not too far from where they needed to be at. He looked up and found Esther pulling in not too far from them. Augusta came bounding up to them. Esther on the other hand seemed a little reserved or maybe nervous, Charles thought.

Esther looked at her watch. She was just a tad early. She had no idea on what Major Rally wanted to meet up for. Her mind could not even imagine a scenario as to why he would even come looking for her after all this time.

“I’ll text you when I am done.” Charles looked at Tim.

“Esther?” Tim called out.

“What?” She had not been concentrating on them. “I’ve got to be at Aunt Sophia’s at one, so” Esther realized she did not know if they wanted to go see her as well. She shrugged her shoulders, “so if you want to go meet the crazy lady, then we need to head out by a quarter till one. She’s not far from here.” Were they going to try to spend all day with her?   
“Although, you both have already met her.”

“Yes, she’s pretty sharp.” Augusta commented and Esther laughed.

“Well, never a dull moment around the Denham’s.” Charles watched the interaction between the two. Apparently, the drive together helped Augusta out of her mood she was in.

“Didn’t you say Edward was going to be there?” Charles asked. Esther looked at him, obviously it was a pointed question to her.

“Edward and Clara, yes.”

“I don’t know if we should intrude on a family thing.” Good grief, he was back peddling. What would she think?

Esther shrugged her shoulders and looked at her watch. She looked over at Tim. “Ready?” She was not going to force the interaction with her family. She only agreed to a date anyway, if even he still asked. Tim handed Charles the keys in case he needed the truck.

“Are you crazy?” Augusta asked him as they watched them go across the street.

Charles looked at his sister. “Oh, so now you are giving me relationship advice. Just how long did you last boyfriend last?”

“That was different.”

“Really?”

“Yes, he didn’t make me feel like a hot cup of chocolate on a cold winter’s night.” Augusta sighed.

Charles laughed heartily, “What?”

“Well, that’s what Uncle Jack would say.”

“Uncle Jack?”

“Yeah, Esther’s uncle.”

“I know that. I mean, just how did that conversation come up?”

“Easy. I asked her.”

“You asked her what exactly?”

“I asked her how it felt to be in love.”

“So, she gave you Uncle Jack’s point of view? And now you are basing your past relationships on it?”

“Well, it does seem kind of on point now that I think about it.” Augusta looked at her brother. “Besides, she did tell me that I should ask you for your point of view as you are my brother.” Augusta smiled at him. “So, what is your point of view?”

Charles laughed. “Oh, no. I’m not going to get in the middle of this.” They found their destination not too far off. Charles and Augusta walked in to a small but pleasant office.

A young blonde looked up and smiled at Charles, but slightly frowned when she spied Augusta. “How can I help you?”

“I have some documents to drop off to Sophia Denham. I was told to leave them here.” Charles took note of her name, Penny.

“You are?”

“Charles Babington.” Augusta rolled her eyes as the girl quickly got up. Obviously, she must know something about him.

“I’m sorry about that. I wasn’t expecting you until later.”

“Yes, well I had business in town.”

She went to smiling ridiculously at him. “I’ll be right back.” Penny took the documents to an office in the back.

Augusta looked over at Charles. “She’s pretty.”

“And what’s your point?”

“I thought you liked blondes.”

Charles rolled his eyes at her. “Very funny.”

“Mr. Babington, Mrs. Denham would like to speak to you.”

“She’s here?”

Penny laughed. “No, on the phone. There’s a private line in the office over there.” 

Augusta followed him in there, noticing a glare from Penny as she followed Charles. They went in and closed the door. Augusta let out a gasp at the photos on the wall. “These look like some of Esther’s.” 

Charles looked closely to see if they were marked like the ones at the bed and breakfast. “They are.” Before he could really look at all of them, the phone beeped.

“This is Charles.”

“I hear you brought the new contract.”

“Yes, I gave it to Penny.”

“I need you to bring it to me.” Augusta gleamed at Charles. “My secretary should be able to get you the address and directions.”

“I’m not sure when,”

“One o’clock is fine.” Augusta let out a light laugh. “Who is that?”

“Sorry, Augusta is here with me.”

“Well, bring her too.”

“Are you sure you don’t want to meet later?”

“Do you have somewhere more important to be? You know, I am an old lady. No telling how much longer I have to take care of business.”

A little dramatic Charles mused. The lady seemed to be in fine health. He took a deep breath. “I’m sure we can arrange it.” Sophia promptly ended the call. They went back to Penny’s desk. First, she handed back the envelope to Charles, who passed it to Augusta. She wrote down an address and some directions on a note card. Charles did not imagine how Penny had rubbed her finger suggestively in his palm as she handed it to him. He looked at the girl and blinked. For him, it had the opposite effect than it was intended. Maybe if it was tied to a girl with auburn hair and green eyes, he mused. He turned and looked at Augusta. “Ready?”

There was a new burger bar nearby and they decided to pick up a quick lunch. It appeared it just opened, so they were among the first of the customers for the day. “So, Penny was cute.”

Charles rolled his eyes. “What is your point Augusta?”

“I just mean, she seemed interested in you judging by the way she handed you the note card.” Charles looked at his sister, apparently, she was more observant than she was letting on. “You weren’t slightly interested?”

Charles let out a snort. “Just twenty minutes ago, you were telling me I was crazy because I didn’t jump at the chance to go with Esther to meet Sophia.” Charles studied his sister.   
“You know there’s more to a relationship than just attraction.”

“As if I didn’t know that.”

“Well, I do wonder.”

“Then why don’t you tell me your point of view?” Augusta gave him a daring look. “Or was Esther, right?”

“Right about what?” Charles was interested in knowing.

“She figured you had your own experience that I could gleam some knowledge from instead of her.”

Charles let out his breath as the waiter had brought their food and drinks.

“So?”

“Augusta.” His tone was more frustrated than irritated.

She raised her eyebrow at him. “Oh, come on. Give me some kernel of advice or information. You certainly have to have some with all the women you have dated that I can remember.”

“You’ve been keeping count?”

“Mother has.”

Charles laughed. He had no doubt his mother had been keeping count. The last time he spoke to her, she had come up with some mathematical computation of how many women he would have dated by the time he reached the age of thirty-five. “I know this may come as a surprise to you,” and to myself really, “if you think I have been in love like some of the books you read, I don’t know if I could say I can. Close maybe, definitely some fascinations, but nothing to really melt my heart to.”

“You sound like you are quoting Olaf.”

“Olaf?”

“Yes, the snowman from Frozen. He says some people are worth melting for.”

“Frozen?”

“It’s a Disney movie.” Charles looked at her perplexed. Funny how she would make a Disney reference, must like Esther. Maybe that is why they seemed to get along. He studied her and made note of some similarities but shook them off. “What about Caroline?”

“Caroline Bingley?”

“Yeah, wasn’t she a model.”

“She was.” Charles reflected on Caroline. She was probably the closest he had thought himself to be in love. Until, she had met a Mr. Darcy, who had more money and went chasing after him until he ended up marrying some girl from the country. “No, upon reflection, I was not in love with Caroline.”

“I guess some people are just not cut out for it.”

“What do you mean?”

Augusta shrugged. “Maybe you aren’t a person that doesn’t want to be in anything serious.”

Charles looked at her. “You think I don’t want anything like our parents?”

“Look, I’m sorry I even brought it up.”


	23. Major Rally

Gregory Rally looked at his watch. He was early. He was slightly nervous, truth be told. Not that he had not prepared for this meeting, but he had no idea on how she would react. He thought about the young girl from a few years ago. She was bright eyed and beautiful when she answered the door. He understood why Scott had easily fallen in love with her. She was a complete mess afterwards even though she had tried to tell him she would be okay.

He would have stayed if he were not due back to the deployment. He had come home long enough to finish escorting the body back to the states. When he spoke to the mortuary affairs and found out they were only going to notify Scott’s parents, he took a quick hop to where she was. She had every right to know. It was such a sad love story. They had only been what Greg would count as dating a few months before Scott had asked her to marry him. Even before then, he knew Scott had his eye on the girl. Scott was unlike any young man he knew. Scott knew that she was the one for him.

By the time he got back from the deployment and went looking for her, he ended up complaining one night as he walked around the dorm trying to find someone that knew her as she had seemed to disappear. Her friend, Susan, parted with some information after he had relayed the promise he had made to Scott. It led to another roadblock, as she had ended up in some private hospital after her attempt. Greg cursed to himself. He should have known to let her chain of command know to keep an eye on her.

He had finally gotten a desk assignment after all his years of flying. He still wanted to make some rank, so he agreed to take on a local reserve officer training corp. He had taken to social media to find her but all those came back empty. He had thought that maybe she had committed suicide. He took a risk and reached out to Scott’s parents, who were able at least to give him some information.

Greg looked up as a familiar face walked in the door. A decent looking guy behind her. Perhaps, she had moved on. Esther looked at him and remembered him from before, slightly older, but just as handsome the day he had knocked on her door.

“Esther!” He stood up and walked over to her. “Can I give you a hug?”

Esther smiled at him. “Of course!” Tim appraised the man as he gave Esther an extremely friendly hug. “This is my friend Tim. We are heading out on the trail tomorrow.” Esther looked at Tim. “Tim, this is Major Rally.” Greg reached out and gave Tim a firm handshake. “I hope you don’t mind.”

Greg laughed. “Not at all.” He gave her a wink. “You know us flyboys.” Esther flushed but laughed. They quickly got a table. “I imagine you are wondering why I called you.”

“Well, it did cross my mind.”

“I’ve taken a position with an ROTC unit near here. I’ll be here for a couple of years.”

“So, you aren’t flying anymore?”

Greg smiled. “No, apparently, as I have gotten older, I developed a medical condition that prevents me.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.”

“Oh, nothing that life threatening, but none the less, it was change jobs or take an early retirement. I wasn’t ready to retire, so I opted for the change in job.” Greg looked at Tim. 

They were not sitting close or gave any indication of any romantic interest. “So, what about you? I’ve been trying to find you but didn’t find anything on social media.” Tim got up to use the restroom.

Esther smiled. “No. I just finished my capstone for my master’s degree.”

“Well, I had no doubt you would finish school. Scott always said you were smart.” Esther’s face slightly fell. “I’m sorry, I don’t mean to bring up any pain.”

Esther shook it off. “No, it’s just” she took a deep breath, “some days are harder than others.” He understood. Of course, he would. Scott would not be the only person he knew over the years to die in the service.

“You are probably wondering why I have tracked you down.” Greg looked at her. “So, is Tim your boyfriend?”

Esther laughed, “No, just a really good friend from high school.”

“Well, good because it could have got really uncomfortable.”

“Uncomfortable how?”

“Well, I just thought that maybe with me being in town for a few years, that we might have a chance to become acquainted better.” Esther blinked at him. “I mean, you know, if you were still single.” Tim walked back up and found Esther blushing. Of all the times to go to the restroom. Esther was not sure she heard correctly. Was he asking her out? Greg gave her a wink as Tim sat down.

“I, um, well I am.” Esther realized Tim was right. He had met her to ask her out. Why didn’t he just do that over the phone? “I am just not sure.” Esther let out a light nervous laugh. “I was not expecting this.” Greg gave her a smile.

“Well, I’m off to a conference next week. Maybe, you could think about it and let me know if you want to meet up sometime?”

Esther let out an inner sigh. She would not have to make the decision just yet. She smiled back at him. “I will be out of town too.” She realized she was a blubbering moron now. 

“But, when I get back, I will let you know.” Esther heard Tim’s phone beeped.

“It’s time to go if you want to be on time to Aunt Sophia’s.”

Esther found herself still looking at Greg when Tim stood up.

“Well, I got to get going too. I must meet a recruit. Let me walk you out.” Greg and Esther walked behind Tim.

Tim very much felt like a third wheel, so he continued ahead towards his truck while Esther had momentarily stayed behind with Greg. He noticed Charles and Augusta walking up towards him. Augusta waived and Tim stopped to let them catch up. Charles, though as Tim mused, was looking at the two individuals just far enough away to recognize one of them, but not close enough but to look on in confusion. Greg had leaned in to give her another hug.

“You’ll let me know next week?” Greg asked her again.

“Yes, I will.” Greg beamed at her.

“Alright, bye Evee.” Esther caught her breath as she watched him leave. Scott was the only one that had called her that. A call sign from part of her initials for what would be her new name, Esther Violet Eling Evers, had they married.


	24. Aunt Sophia

“Major Rally I take it?” Charles asked Tim who shook his head yes. “Seems friendly enough.”

Tim looked at Charles. “Friendly enough to ask her out.”

Charles looked at Esther as she approached. “Is she?” he said out loud towards Tim only to realize Tim and Augusta had already crossed the street.

Esther looked towards the truck. Tim and Augusta were already across the street. She saw Charles had not crossed with them. “Something wrong?” she asked him as she approached.

He let out a light laugh. “No, apparently I wasn’t paying attention. I take it that was Major Rally?”

Esther looked at him. “Didn’t the uniform give it away?” She paused. “Are you tired of Gatlinburg already?”

He smiled lightly at her as they waited for the light to change. “No, apparently, I have to deliver the paperwork in person.”

“I thought that was what you were doing.”

“No, I mean directly to Sophia.” There was no way around just randomly showing up. “We got a call while we were in the office.” Charles studied her to see her reaction. “Nice photos by the way.”

“To be honest, I forgot they were even there. I hadn’t been to the office for some time.” Esther pondered how long it had been. 

“I hear you have another date.”

Esther laughed. “Not really. I don’t have anything on my calendar.” They walked across the street. 

“So, he didn’t ask you out? Because that is what Tim said.”

Esther looked at him, the shoe was on the other foot so to speak, she mused. “Not exactly. He said he had taken a new job in the area and asked if I wanted to meet up sometime. Tim likes to think everything is a date. I am sure he is just trying to get acclimated to his new surroundings. Besides, it is easier to do when you have something in common with someone you know.”

Compatibility, he mused. Just what Uncle Jack had said. Maybe the old man did know what he was talking about. Both had experience in the military, was that all they had in common? He had stuff in common with Esther.

“Can I ride with you? He asked as they reached the truck. Esther looked over to Tim and Augusta. Tim was making her laugh at something.

“So, now you aren’t afraid of Goliath?” Esther teased him. “Let me go give Tim the address.” 

He looked at the book that was sitting on the seat. “Is this the book Augusta wanted?”

“It is although Tim is worried, she won’t go on the trail after she reads it.” Esther looked at him. “It has some facts mixed in with the writer’s own journey on the trail. I found most of it entertaining, although it did make me a little hesitant about going on the trail by myself.” Charles flipped through it.

“I hear you’ve been giving out advice by Uncle Jack.”

Esther let out a laugh. Charles was amused by the sound. “Well, she is pretty inquisitive. I also told her Uncle Jack was available if she was interested.”

Charles laughed. “I would not wish that on anyone.”

“Is your sister that much of a bear?” Esther was curious.

“Not really my sister, although as you probably have figured out, she has some romantic ideas about relationships.” He pondered. “No, I’m afraid our mother is pretty critical of anyone she brings home.”

Esther wondered if that was why Augusta thought he had not any serious relationships.

Charles almost asked about her parents and then remembered her mother had just died a few months ago and her stepfather before. He wondered if Uncle Jack had met Peter or Scott and had given his opinion on them. “So, is there anyone that critiques your relationships?” Probably the most generalize question.

“Oh, just everybody I know gives me a critique. Tim, Mary Lou, Sophia, Jack, Edward, Clara. Heck, even my neighbors have been known to tell me a thing or two.” Esther mused. They all liked to. She just generally did not pay any attention to them. The only one that had made a good suggestion was Aunt Sophia. “I can’t say I ever really listened to any of them, except maybe Sophia but to be fair, I was pretty young in those days.”

“You aren’t that old now.”

Esther let out a huff. “Yeah, well I bet Monday morning I will be hating life, especially if Tim gets his way. He likes to hike at a good pace. He tends to forget everyone is not at his level.”

“Oh, I think Augusta might slow him down. I don’t know if she has ever really taken a walk without pavement.”

Esther laughed as she pulled in the drive. 

Charles was surprised to be pulling into the driveway of a very well-appointed cabin. It made Darcy’s Place look more homely. Charles wondered why the business got in its position. Certainly, there was money here. “I have to warn you,” Charles thought it best to say something now and he pressed on with what he needed to say. “About my meeting with Sophia.”

Esther looked at him. “I already know.”

“You do?”

“She sent me an email this morning.”

“You aren’t upset?”

Esther shrugged. “I really have no vested interest in her business.”

“But she wanted,”

Esther smiled at him. “Aunt Sophia wants a lot of things but doesn’t mean she’s going to get them.” One of which, she had to presume was her introduction to a Charles Babington. The joke was on her since he had shown up the other night with car trouble. Esther spied Edward’s car in the driveway. “Oh, good. Edward actually showed up.” Esther looked at him. “I will warn you,” she looked at the three guests that were with her, “it may get crazy depending on things.”

“Mr. Babington, Miss Babington?” An older gentleman addressed them as they came through the door. “Mrs. Denham would like a word in her library with you.”

Esther took Tim into the open living area. “Edward, Clara, you remember Tim?”

Edward looked at him, but it was Clara that spoke, “Hi Tim. How are you?”

“Good. The both of you?”

“Ready for this to be over.” Edward mumbled.

“What’s the matter Edward?” Esther asked him.

“I heard she has some meeting with some company about the holdings. She’s even got her lawyer here.”

“I don’t think it will take long.”

“Good, because Clara has got to work soon, and I’ve got somewhere to be. Speaking of which, where did you say you were going?”

“Wrightsville Beach.”

“Why there?”

Esther knew this question would come up. “I have a friend that has a condo there.”

“Oh, can I go?” He asked. “You did break up my party.”

“Yes, at my house, which if I remember correctly, you did not ask if you could have.”

“Well, someone is still in a tizzy.” Esther squinted her eyes at him.

“I’m sure Rut still has a place you can go. I’m sure he wouldn’t mind.” 

Clara looked at them. “That’s a good idea Esther. Edward, why don’t we ask Rut? Maybe we could stay there for our honeymoon?”

Esther could not believe Clara was still going to marry this guy. “Going to set a date?”

“Well, that’s why we are here.” Edward replied hastily.

Tim looked over at Clara, who obviously loved Edward despite his flaws. “So, when is it?”

“Well, that’s the question of the hour I understand.” Aunt Sophia came into the room. Sophia looked around the room. “Who are you?”

“Aunt Sophia, this is my friend Tim from high school.” Tim found he was being appraised. Esther had to suppress a giggle.

“And what do you do?”

“Financial consulting in Pigeon Forge.”

“Hmp. Maybe I should have seen you about this mess.” Charles and Augusta came in behind her.

“Charles?” Edward looked at him.

“Edward.” Charles was vastly aware of Edward not trying to study his sister in front of Clara. “This is my sister, Augusta.”

“I thought we were having some family meeting. I didn’t realize Esther was bringing all her friends.”

Sophia looked at him. “Charles and Augusta had business with me.”

“They are the ones taking over the company?” Edward asked.

Esther rolled her eyes. Maybe they would not be taking over the company if he had been better at managing the company. “You mean acquiring Edward.”

“Is that why he was at your house the other day?” He sneered.

Oh, this is going to escalate quickly. She knew what he was implying. “Sit down and shut up Edward. I had no idea until this morning.” Edward glared at her.

“Yes, sit down and shut up.” Aunt Sophia looked at him. “If you had managed things better, you wouldn’t be in this position. Why your uncle let you have such free reign is beyond me.” Sophia let out a sigh. “Besides, she has nothing to gain.”

“As if.” Edward replied coldly as he looked between her and Charles.

Sophia looked at her niece. She could not believe she would still be so thoughtful of Edward after everything she had been through. “Yes, it seems that Esther thinks more of you than you of her, based on your behavior. The buyout will give you an annual payment for five years. That should be plenty of time for you to get yourself together, although you have wasted most of your talent to date.”

Edward looked at Esther. “You mean you aren’t getting the money?”

Esther pursed her lips. “I am not a true Denham.”

“But you need the money.”

Esther laughed. “Not really. I am just more frugal with my money.” Somewhat true, she did not want to let him know about the money from Scott’s life insurance, otherwise he would be trying to get a hold of it too.

“So, Edward, if you want to step over to the library, I believe the lawyer as some documents for you to sign.” Sophia commented. Edward got up quickly and walked out. Sophia turned her attention back to Clara. “Are you sure you still want to marry him?”

“Yes.”

Sophia rubbed her temples. “Well, I would suggest you hold on to the purse strings or you will be out in the street before the year is up.” Esther knew better than to say anything.   
Sophia was not happy by her tone. “And what about you?”

“What about me?” Sophia had decided to turn her attention to Esther. Esther was trying to act calm even though she wanted out of the limelight.

“I mean what are you going to do?”

Esther mused. “I’m going to sit on the beach and work on my tan. I am looking rather pale don’t you think?”

“Don’t mince words with me.”

Tim though was a trooper who did not know any better. “She could use a break after the way her year has been going. Why not sit on the beach?”

Tim found himself under the older woman’s gaze. “Are you going with her?”

Tim laughed. “I haven’t been invited but that’s a great idea.”

Esther just rolled her eyes and shook her head. He was messing with the wrong bear. “Well, I hope there is a separate bedroom. I don’t need any more patched up weddings.”

Esther looked at Clara and gave her an inquisitive look. “You might as well know. I’m expecting.” Esther gave her a smile but inside she was worried for Clara if Edward kept his current status quo. Clara would be bound to find out he has more than woman following him around.

“Nothing to worry about on my front Aunt Sophia.” Tim commented. “I prefer a woman with less attitude.” Tim smiled, not at Esther, but Augusta. The look though was caught by Aunt Sophia.

“I don’t think she’s your type.” Aunt Sophia commented to Tim. Tim looked back at Sophia inquisitively. 

“Aunt Sophia, do you think you could not embarrass your guests?” Esther interjected.

“Am I not allowed to speak my own mind, in my own house?” Sophia was trying to flush out her true objective, one Charles Babington.

“Of course, you are, but I believe,” Esther mused a little laugh, “you best stick to the current matter on hand.” Edward was back.

“What did I miss?” Apparently since he got what he really wanted, money of course, he was back to being happy as if he had not tried to start an argument.

“Clara has told us she was expecting.” Esther mused, trying to keep the conversation away from her as much as possible.

“Yes, that is why we have decided to speed up our timeline for the wedding.” Edward wrapped his arm around her, like he was always the loving type. It made Esther a little ill.   
“Labor Day, if you think you can make the time Esther.”

Another jab at Esther. Three months, she should be working by then, well hopefully. She could save up enough money without having to dip into the stash.

“Aunt Sophia has been nice enough to agree to pay for the details.”

“Yes, it seems that Edward thinks he needs to have a wedding in Florida. The mountains won’t do and the water near here too cool.” Sophia was not happy about it. Esther grumbled inside ‘of course it would have to be somewhere else.’ “Heaven’s knows why. The mountain air was fine in my days.” 

“Really aunt. I would think some fresh sea air would do you good.” Edward was trying to be all charming about it.

“I’m in perfect health, thank you. I intend on living forever, so you might as well stop trying to butter me up.” Sophia decided to turn her attention back to Esther. “I certainly hope you will have better prospects by then.”

Esther really wanted to be anywhere right about now. First, Edward had implied she had some sort of relation with Charles to benefit her with the acquisition, then Tim implied she had an attitude and now Sophia implied she had no prospects. She knew what the crafty old lady wanted her to say. She refused. She was not going to allow Sophia to get involved with her personal life again. She could not hope to find another Scott and if was lucky enough to have lightning strike twice, she would absolutely go off the deep end if it did not work out. 

Clara looked over to Esther. She had heard Sophia had a sharp tongue; it was no wonder they avoided the old battle axe. “I’m sure Esther is quite capable of finding her own prospects.” Clara decided to try to help Esther. Clara wanted to glance over at Charles, but she knew better. Sophia would pounce if she knew Esther had dinner with him the other day.

“I didn’t know you fancy yourself a match maker Mrs. Denham?” Augusta stepped into the minefield. Esther let out a breath. The girl had no idea on what she was doing.

Sophia turned back to Augusta. “Well, if I waited for anybody to do anything around here, I would be six feet in the ground.”

I already wish I were, Esther thought to herself.

“What about you? Don’t your parents want you married off and out of their hands?”

Augusta laughed. “I am already out of their hands, Mrs. Denham. I’ve been out of the house since I was seventeen.”

“You must be awful young.”

“I’m not quite twenty-two.”

“What an accomplishment for such a young person.” Sophia decided to reappraise the young lady. “And you are still single? I would fancy someone would snatch you right up.” Augusta blushed.

“I’d say.” Edward spoke out loud. Clara leaned over and smacked him on the arm. “I’m just agreeing with Aunt Sophia.” 

Esther looked at her phone. There was still plenty of time. “I suppose you are going to tell me you need to leave?” Sophia looked at her, but Charles realized there was genuine concern there.

“I’m just wondering how much longer you are going to torment everyone.” Esther quipped at her aunt.

“I haven’t even started yet.”

“Well, Clara has to be at work, so we will be leaving.” Edward stood up quickly when the opportunity came.

“Of course, you got what you came for. Be off with you.” Sophia was glad they were leaving. As soon as they were gone, Sophia turned her attention back to those that were still there. “Did you all drive in the same car?”

“No, I drove my truck.” Tim answered.

“Well, then off with you as well.”

Sophia looked at the Babington’s. “We can ride with Tim.” Charles answered her.

“You all came together?” Sophia appraised the young man as he glanced over at Esther.

Esther let out a sigh. “They came down to go hiking with Tim.” She was leaving off her so her aunt would not get any flights of fancy.

“Well, you should go as well. Better than being cooped up at home.”

“She’s taking photos.” Esther glared at Tim.

“Excellent.” Sophia clapped her hands and went back to studying them. She turned to Tim. “Are you camping?”

“Yes.” Tim answered her. Oh, here we go, thought Esther as Sophia looked around the room. “Don’t worry Aunt Sophia, the bears will be kept together.” Tim gave her a wink.

Esther looked at him. “I am not a bear.” Sophia let out a chuckle.

“Splendid. Well, I am sure you have got much to do before such an adventure. Off with you.” Esther thought it was awful easy when Sophia asked her to stay a moment. “Come with me.” Esther followed her to the library. “I had hoped you were going to show up early so I could speak with you.”

“I was meeting a friend for lunch.”

“Esther, you know I worry about you. Was it a man? Is he single?”

“Sophia, I’m fine. Really.”

“No, you are not. You spend all your free time at home, locked away from the world. You need to be getting out.”

“I am. I’m going to the beach next week.”

“And then what?”

“Well, I figured I would start looking for some work.”

“You should have not changed the agreement for the acquisition.”

“Sophia, really it’s fine.” Esther could feel stress building up which threatened to erupt as tears. “Now, I need to be going so I can get to Mr. Hankins photo shoot.”

“Come see me when you get back.”

“I will.” Esther turned sharply and was glad to be out of the glare of Aunt Sophia. Esther stepped out the door and let out a sigh of relief. Before she could totally relax, she realized Tim and the others were still in the driveway. At this point, she just wanted space from everyone.

“We were just discussing on what to do.” Tim commented as she walked up. “Sidney and Charlotte should be showing up soon to the cabin. How long is your photo shoot?”

“Got me. I’ll just catch up later.” Esther tried to show a brave smile towards Tim who was the one she was focused on.

“Alright, we’ll see you later then.” Tim walked off with Augusta.

Augusta yelled back for Charles to grab the book. He decided to get it from the driver’s side. He opened the door for Esther. “Well, I’d have to say that was very entertaining.”

“I’m not sure how you got through unscathed.”

“Maybe she likes me.” Charles looked at Esther with amusement.

“Well, maybe you are delusional.” Esther handed him the book.

“Time will tell.” He gave her a smoldering look with a smile and walked off.


	25. A Walk in the Park

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, some of the places and trails are factual; however, I have not walked on any of the trails so do not assume I know anything about their difficulty level.
> 
> The book, A Walk in the Woods, By Bill Bryson is a real book and worth the read (if you can tear yourself away from anything non-related to Sanditon_
> 
> It's been a little crazy today, so I hope to upload more chapters throughout the weekend.
> 
> This is picking up from Aunt Sophia's house and Esther is on her way to her wedding shoot for Mr. Hankins. Somewhere along the line I must have copied over my working copy and lost some of that-so it's jumping into the trail just in case you are thinking there might be something missing, that would be it.

They arrived at the starting point at Porters Creek Trail. A moderate trail which would allow Esther to take photos of an old cemetery, historic farm site, a cantilevered barn, an old cabin, waterfall and the creek to any additional wildlife or special shots that caught Esther’s keen eye.

Tim and Sidney were keen on the trail as they had discussed it over the game of billiards with Charlotte and Augusta. A couple of hours in the trail, Sidney had taken point followed by Charles with Charlotte and Augusta. Tim had held back towards Esther as she took photos. Sidney had decided to take a break to allow Tim and Esther time to catch up. Charlotte and Augusta both looked relieved at the prospect. The girls wandered off not too far to look in the area and found a spot to sit and rest.

“What happened to you last night?” Sidney looked at Charles.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean we were all downstairs playing billiards. You said you were going to just do a little work but then never came back.” 

Charles let out a little laugh. “I did do some work. It seemed that things were going fairly good downstairs and I didn’t want to be an extra wheel.”

“Augusta does seem to be interested in Tim.”

“Yeah, I got that feeling. Not much to come of it though, with her still in Roanoke. You know long distance relationships are not really her thing.”

“I can’t say I’d blame her.” Sidney reflected as Charlotte had gone back home for three months after their initial snafu with Mrs. Campion. “I’m not a fan of them either.”

Charles looked at Sidney. “And when have you ever had a long-distance relationship?”

Sidney let out an exuberated breath. “When Charlotte had taken off and went back home. It was about three months.”

“I had no idea she had left.”

“Oh, she left. It was the worst time of my life, and not because I had to relearn how to cook for myself.” Sidney gave him a grin.

Charles reflected. “Was that when Georgianna was tempted to run off?” Sidney nodded yes. “I’m sorry I wasn’t paying attention.”

Sidney laugh, “Well, you were having your own problems to deal with after taking over the business.”

“I feel like I lived in my office for six months.”

“And just before that Caroline left.”

“You know I hadn’t really thought about her since then. You are the second person to bring up her name this weekend.” Sidney stared at Charles. “Augusta had asked me if I was   
in love with her.”

Sidney waited. “And?”

Charles laughed. “Well, after reflection I was not. Then, Augusta told me she must not have been no cup of hot chocolate.”

“Cup of hot chocolate?”

“One of Uncle Jacks’ point of view of love.”

“Who is Uncle Jack?” Sidney knew most if not all of Charles’ family as they had been friends for so long.

“Esther’s Uncle.” 

Sidney raised his eyebrow inquisitively. “You are meeting her family already?”

Charles smiled. “Occupational hazard apparently. Her Aunt Sophia was the one of the cabin company’s my father had taken in an acquisition before he retired.”

“Oh, does she know about that?”

Charles frowned. “Yes, in fact she had her aunt change some of the terms so her stepbrother would benefit from it.”

“Instead of her I take it?”

“I just don’t really understand I guess.”

“About?”

“Well, she’s unemployed and it would have given her some monetary compensation for the next five years, amounting in a good amount.” Charles retied his shoes. “And she’s never sent me a bill.”

Sidney smiled devilishly at him. “You must have made a good impression.”

Charles laughed, “Not in the least I can tell you.”

“I thought maybe that’s why I didn’t see you back downstairs.” Charles looked off into the distance as Augusta and Charlotte had returned.

Tim waited patiently for Esther as she was taking photos. He greeted some other hikers as they passed by. Finally, ready to catch up, Tim spoke to her as they walked.

“I heard you got back at a decent time last night, but you didn’t come downstairs.”

Esther let out a sigh. “I really wasn’t in the mood for a whole lot of company.”

“Why not?”

“Do you always having to be so annoying?” Tim smiled at her. “Well, if you really want to know, the wedding shoot was a little harder than I anticipated.”

“So, bridezilla?”

Esther laughed. “No, the bride, even the groom, were both pleasant enough. It was an exceedingly small affair.” Esther paused. “No, it was hard personally.”

“Well only to be expected because of everything.” Tim looked off. “Not to mention, a wedding.”

“You sound like Dr. Montgomery.”

“Who is Dr. Montgomery?”

Esther looked at him. “The doctor at the treatment center.”

Tim gave her a perplexed look. “I thought you were done.”

“I am. I need to talk to someone, so I made a call last night before I came back to the cabin.” Esther hesitated. “He basically told me to suck it up.” Esther let out a little laugh.   
“Sorry, that reminded me of something I heard a lot during basic training from my training instructor.” Esther stood to the side to let some hikers pass. “I came back and sat out on the deck for a bit.”

“You should have been downstairs playing billiards.”

“And interrupt the couples playing?” Esther looked at Tim. “It sounded like you were all having a good time. I didn’t want to be a downer.”

“How did you know it was just couples?”

Esther smiled at Tim. “I may have spied Charles at the dining room table.”

“I wondered why he didn’t come back down.”

“He had no idea I was out there.”

“Didn’t he text you?”

“Oh, so you were the one releasing personal information?”

Tim laughed. “He was driving me crazy wondering why you hadn’t gotten back.”

“He sent me a text, well a link to a Star Wars meme.”

Tim studied her. “So, what happened then?”

They came around the corner and spotted the rest of their crew. Sidney looked at the ladies. “Ready to start?” He gave Charlotte a big smile as he helped her to her feet.

“You say we are about halfway?” Augusta spoke. She was not going to admit to Charles, but the trail was different than her normal workouts.

Charles laughed at her anyway. “Ready to go back to the car Augusta?” She squinted her eyes at him. 

Tim helped her to her feet. “So gentlemanly,” she mumbled as she stood up. Esther rolled her eyes. Tim was working his charm on overtime.

Esther put her camera away for a bit so she could enjoy the walk for a bit. They fell into walking pairs as they continued.

“You are getting enough shots?” Charles asked her as they walked.

“Probably. I usually take more than I need.”

They had sat outside in silence last night. She could feel Charles watching her as she held the unopened beer bottle in her hand. She had bought it on impulse on her way back while waiting for Dr. Montgomery to call her back.

Dr. Montgomery had finally got a hold of her and gave his two cents on the situation. She was not taking the medication anymore, but could she trust herself to break the habit again if she needed the medication? He had made an appointment for her on Monday to see her. She let out a breath. After some time, she decided to stay the course.  
Charles had been a little flustered at her, which at the very least, meant Tim must have said something about it. He had tried to engage her in some conversation, but she was not ready for any of it. He still sat there silently. In time, he chose to lean his shoulder into hers as they sat. It took all her resolve not to break down. After the others had given up and gone to bed, they sat there listening to the sounds of nature.

“How’s Augusta handling it?”

Charles laughed. “I think she is realizing it’s not a walk in the park.”

“Is that supposed to be a joke?”

“I hadn’t thought about that in that way.” He let out another laugh at the oxymoron. They came across some more hikers going in both directions. “I get the feeling that maybe we   
are moving a little slow.”

“I think Sidney is worried about Charlotte. She seemed pretty nervous once we started.”

“I’m sure Tim talking about bears didn’t help.”

Esther let out a little laugh. “You do realize he did that so Augusta would stick close to him.”

“Well, he does seem attentive of late.” Charles looked at her. “You know I hope he doesn’t get too attached. She doesn’t really do well with long distance relationships.”

“I’m sure he will figure it out. He’s a pretty smart guy.”

“I am surprised that he hasn’t married.”

Esther shrugged her shoulders. “Not from a lack of trying.” Charles gave her a perplexed look. “He tends to fall in and out of relationships like some people change their shoes.” 

Charles could not decipher the tone and she caught the confused look. “It must be nice to have that kind of resilience.”

Charles walked in silence. Maybe Tim just had not really fell really into the kind of love that apparently his friend had. He glanced at Esther. Both extremes of the spectrum when it came to relationships. He thought about himself. He felt like he must be somewhat in the middle. He did not jump from one relationship to another, but he did not feel like the world was ending either. Maybe Esther was worried about getting in another relationship. He continued his thought process. How could she not as the two that he was aware of ended badly?

After about another hour and a half, they found a spot to take a break and make something to eat. They were all quiet as they had all been up late the night before. Esther took out a small notebook and jotted down some notes about the photos for later. Esther leaned up against her backpack. She looked at the group and was amused as they were unaware of her intentions. She had chosen to sit slightly higher than them and had set the camera out.

Tim and Sidney looked over the map after they were done eating. Surprisingly enough, they were still doing well on time. They had about at least another hour on their current trail, plus some for photos. Then they would be off towards to Icewater Springs Shelter where they would camp for the night. Sidney was sure Charlotte would go to bed early. He looked over at Augusta. She was in the same boat. Esther though was a whole different person.

He had not met her when she came home last night. He looked over at Charles. He also looked tired. He wondered if they had hooked up despite Charles objections about making a good impression. She was not the typical girls that he knew Charles would date. Not that she was ugly. She was very pretty. Some might consider her shy, but shortly after Sidney met her, he would call it reserved. She was methodical. She seemed to like to study people and make decisions before contributing. It seemed once she was done with her study, she was warm and friendly. And witty with her sarcasm. He had watched the banter between her and Tim. It was downright ruthless. She was gentler with everyone else. Most likely due to the fact she did not know them as well and whether they could take it.

Charles. Humph, Sidney thought as he watched him. He was a sunken ship and did not even know it. He let out a light chuckle that got Charlotte’s attention. She got up to go sit next to him. In a low voice she asked him, “and what seems to be so funny?”

Sidney arm laid across hers as they sat against their own packs. “I was reflecting on the look of a man who doesn’t realize he was in deeper than he realized.” 

Charlotte looked at the others. “Tim?” Sidney shook his head and let out another light chuckle. “Charles?” Charlotte looked over at Esther where Charles had sat not too far off. Not as close as her and Sidney, but not so far to be able to have a conversation without having to talk too loudly. Charlotte had taken to Esther immediately. She was not like any of the arrogant women Charles was known to bring around when they went to dinner. Those girls seemed to believe they were entitled to everything. Of course, the chance of being on the arm of one of North Carolina’s more successful available bachelors, women tended to flock to Charles naturally. She would be happy if it were true, but Esther seemed more reserved. She knew that look. The look that conveyed a broken heart and uncertainty of whether to open herself back up.

Last year after their first, well maybe not first, fight but one that made her question her relationship with Sidney, she had the same look. He came to her apartment drunk, she assumed from a night drinking with Crowe and Babington. Somewhere during his rumblings, he mentioned meeting up with his old flame, Eliza. Even now, the name sounded like nails across a chalkboard just to think of it. He swore nothing happened but what would have happened if he had shown up to Eliza’s house instead of Charlotte’s? The woman was on a mission to get him back. After a few months of staying with her parents, and constant regret on Sidney’s part, she decided the only way to make it work is if they stayed in the same house. She needed to know he was not out running the streets at night meeting up with her. Not that it could not happen during the day, but it was less likely to. He had his stuff in the guest room so fast, Charlotte figured he had just let his younger brother, Arthur, take his old apartment just to get Charlotte back. Lately, he had been asking her more about her long-term goals. Not necessarily career goals, but life goals and bucket lists. He had asked her about going to see his oldest brother Tom and his wife Mary in Myrtle Beach over the fourth of July. They were involved with some amusement park and were looking for a set of fresh eyes on future developments.

Break time over, they packed up their trash and headed out. They managed to get on a level path. The men took the lead while the ladies followed. Charlotte decided to talk to Esther. If Charles were in fact interested in Esther, then perhaps she would see her more often.

“Esther, do you go hiking a lot?” Charlotte asked.

Esther laughed. “No, but I spent some time in the military so did a lot of walking there. I just kept it up after I got out. Although, I am not sure I could still do my required number of sit ups for a fit test. I’ve been eating a lot of ice cream lately.” Augusta fell back with them to listen in.

“How are you enjoying the hike?” Esther asked Augusta.

“I have to say, it wasn’t what I expected.” Augusta answered.

“Just be glad we aren’t on some of the other trails. There is one called Rainbow Falls, which is genuinely nice but not easy. Definitely a good pair of boots for that trail.”

“Do you think you will go on that one?”

“I don’t know. Once I get the photos sorted out from the weekend, I will have to cross reference the list to figure out what I still might need.”

“Do you just do photos on nature?”

“I have done a variety. Nature is sometimes easier because they generally don’t critique your work if they don’t like the picture.” Esther laughed. “People though.” Esther shook her head. “They can be ruthless. After that, I generally just stick to nature and places.”

“But you didn’t you take pictures last night for a wedding?” Augusta had wondered why she had not seen her come home last night.

“Aunt Sophia called in a favor. Although, after yesterday, maybe I should send her a bill as well.”

Charlotte looked at Augusta. “What happened yesterday?”

“It’s a story for another time but let’s just say, she is still very much inclined to get in my personal business.”

Esther stopped to take some photos. Charlotte looked at Augusta. “What she mean by that?”

Augusta let out a light laugh. “Aunt Sophia apparently likes to play matchmaker.” Esther caught back up with them. “Charlotte, I heard you are going to Myrtle Beach in a few weeks.”

Charlotte smiled at Augusta. “Sidney’s brother Tom has an amusement park and they are doing something for the holiday. He also of course, wants to discuss business.”

“I haven’t been to Myrtle Beach in a long time,” Augusta mused out loud.

“Maybe you could come? I am sure Tom has room in his house. I could ask if you want.” Charlotte looked over at Esther. “What about you?”

Esther realized Charlotte was talking to her and laughed. “I barely know what I’m doing currently. I don’t think I can plan that far out.”

“Really?” Augusta commented. “You seem like you do.”

Esther gave her a small smile. “It’s one day at a time. Besides, I just got done with school. Sooner or later, I will have to go back to work. I could not imagine sitting around home for days in and days out. I would probably lose my mind.” ‘Which I just have gotten back’ she added silently.

“Well, I’m sure if you wanted to, there would be room as well.”

Esther laughed, “are you a travel agent?”

Charlotte laughed openly. “No, but maybe I should be.”

The men had turned to hear them all laughing as they waited up for them. “We were beginning to think you got eaten by a bear.” Tim commented.

“Bear?” Augusta said nervously.

“Yeah, you didn’t see that one back there.”

“I did, but I decided I didn’t want to hear a bunch of screams.” Esther commented as she walked by nonchalantly. “Besides, it didn’t look like it was hungry, otherwise I would be in the lead.” The men laughed.

Charles fell back to walk with Augusta as Esther took up next to Tim in front.

“You all seemed to be getting along well.”

“Charlotte was asking Esther some questions about her photography. She asked me if I wanted to go to Myrtle Beach.”

“Really?”

“Yes, she seems to think Sidney’s brother would have room.”

“You should if you can work the schedule to make it work. Sidney tells me the fireworks are outstanding.”

Augusta looked at Charles. “Could be a good photo opportunity.” She held back her laughter at the suggestion to her brother.

“Oh, you think Esther would like to go?”

“Well, you know though it’s not fun to ride the rides by yourself.”

“Is that a fact?” Charles knew what she was doing.

“It was just a suggestion.” Augusta went to catch back up as they had lagged a little behind. Charles could only laugh at his sister’s suggestion.

After some more walking, they reached their first objective. The girls decided it was a good time while Esther was taking pictures to go dip their toes in the creek nearby. Esther found that they had all left her to her own wanderings, which she was happy for. There were still a bunch of other hikers around, but she could ignore them. After being on the trail a few times with Tim, she knew where they would be after she was done.

Esther decided to get around them while they were not paying attention to get some photos. For a group to be traveling with someone that their whole intention was to get photos, they were not too observant. Rally would be amused as she thought about her military days and the lack of observation. She let out a silent breath thinking about Rally. She could not really fathom why he would seek her out for a date. The guy was charming and had the looks on his own, just by saying he was a fighter pilot, the ladies at the bar in town would be drooling all over him. Other than Scott and the military though, she wondered if they really had anything in common. Maybe some travel. Certainly, he would have had plenty of opportunity with his job.

She focused her lens and took some shots. She was glad she had brought her newer camera. If she had brought her vintage camera, they would hear the camera by now. She found herself looking at Charles through the lens. He confounded her. She definitely found him attractive. He had good humor. He did seem a little worried that he had overstep yesterday after he kissed her. When they were leaving Sophia’s house, she almost thought he was going to kiss her again. The look conveyed it, even though the action did not. She was getting flustered just thinking about it. They seem to get along but for the most part, there was always other people around. How would they when it was just them? Esther took in a deep breath. She went back around to meet up with them.


	26. The Trip Back

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For Rosie, who asked for another story...

She heard Tim giving out some instructions to a hiker. She laughed, the poor guy had missed his drop off and had been walking the wrong trail. Sidney and Charles wandering around while the ladies stayed close to Tim.

“I guess Charlotte asked Augusta if she wanted to go to Myrtle Beach for the holiday.” Charles took a drink from his canteen.

“Well, Tom should have the room.” Sidney answered nonchalantly but looked at Charles and saw the look on his face. “Oh, she invited Esther too.”

“Is it that obvious?” Charles asked him.

Sidney laughed. “Don’t worry, I’m not sure she’s paying that much attention.”

“Thanks a lot.”

“Besides, that’s two more weeks away. It would be a new track record for you.”

“Oh, very funny. You know I have been known to have a relationship lasting longer than a day.”

“Been a long time hasn’t it?”

“I’m busy.”

“That’s what men say when they really don’t want to be bothered with taking the time of actually getting to know someone.” Sidney looked over at Charlotte and let out a small breath. “I’m glad I did even if she drives me crazy some days.” Charles looked at him and he did seem thoroughly happy. Sidney winked at him. “It makes the nights more interesting.” Sidney walked off leaving Charles by himself chuckling.

Charles found his gaze had drifted over to Esther who had joined the ladies. They have not even had a date yet. He could see himself spending more time with her. They got along well. He was definitely interested in her. She was a hard person to read though sometimes especially last night. There had been something that had triggered something. He wanted her to share it, as he wanted to know her better, but she was stubborn. Good lord she was stubborn. Uncle Jack would call it grit. He finally gave up and just sat there. He would have put his arm around her, but he had pushed his luck in the morning with a kiss. He leaned up against her to know he was there for her.

All back together, they set out towards Icewater Springs Shelter. Augusta was glad it was the last leg of their journey. She stepped up with Tim. “Do you walk the trails a lot?”

“Some months more than others. I try to stay active. Not to mention, it gets me away from the visiting traffic.”

“More of a country guy?”

“Oh, I could live anywhere. My family is from Saint Lucia. There’s only so much room there.”

“Do you go visit?”

“Yes, my father has quite a few relatives still there. I am supposed to go this fall. There is some big family reunion around Labor Day. It’s usually a week of activities.”

“That seems like an extensive reunion.”

Tim laughed. “Well, as the family is broken up between here and there, it gives time for the cousins to build relationships.”

“So family is important to you?”

Tim reflected, a loaded question. “Very much, especially as I get older.”

“How old are you?”

“I’ll be twenty-nine by Christmas.”

“That’s not old!”

Tim chuckled. “No, not really, but I’m not exactly a spring chicken either.” 

He helped her over some rockier ground. “Thank you.” He smiled at her and she smiled back.

Other than some other hikers and a little bit of wildlife, the trail went smoothly. They chose to set up camp just a little out of the way from some of the others who apparently had gotten there yesterday. Sidney and Tim took charge in setting up their area. Augusta and Charlotte were way out of their league, but Esther was able to keep up. Tents up, Esther took her camera and wandered off. She found a nice little spot and sat down and leaned her back against a tree.

A little while later, she found she had been spotted. “You aren’t blending in the background very well.” Charles teased her.

“I’m not hiding.”

“I thought that photographers try to blend in with their surroundings.”

Esther mused, “I’ll give you that, but I’m really just an amateur.” He sat down next to her and leaned up against her shoulder. “Don’t tell me you are lost again.”

Charles chuckled. “Well, I’m not getting the greatest phone signal out here.”

“However will they find you?”

“I’m actually enjoying it.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, I guess I didn’t realize how much work I’ve been doing lately.”

“All work and no play Charles Babington?”

He laughed. “Well, I’ve busy since my father retired. Not to mention, my secretary just had a baby and I ended up with a temp employee that barely knows how to function without constant supervision.”

“You poor thing. You must be having to make your own coffee.”

“Funny.” Charles mused. “You know I can actually take care of myself.”

“Somebody get their feelings hurt?” Feelings, he looked away and noticed a raccoon. That is what got him all messed up yesterday. Deep down, he been flustered all day since that kiss, if he was honest to himself.

“Can I ask you something?” he asked lightly. He was not sure this was the right path to go down, but it was weighing on his mind and he needed it resolved.

“And what is that?” Esther was not sure where this conversation was going.

He took a deep breath and spoke lightly, “I was wondering if I had overstepped yesterday.” There he said it. Come what may, although probably not the best course of action since they were at least six hours from the car.

To his surprise, Esther let out a light laugh. “You wait until you get out in the middle of the woods to ask that?” She could feel him relaxed because of her tone.

“I’ve been busy.”

“You could have asked last night.”

“You really weren’t talking last night.”

“I’ll give you that. I wasn’t really in the mood to talk.”

“I thought maybe you were still mad.”

“If I was mad, you would know it.” Which Esther generally was not the kind to get as mad as most people would think. It was not worth getting all worked up over something trivial. Truthfully, she had been surprised but pleasantly so. “And I was not mad yesterday morning, I said I was hostile. There’s a difference.”

“So, I still get a date?”

“I still think you are delusional.” They both relaxed against the tree and each other. It was peaceful as they listened to the sounds of nature around them. They sat there for some time before they heard some voices. Some of the other campers were apparently doing some wandering themselves with some young kids. 

“Ready to head back?” he asked as the voices were getting closer.

“I guess so.” He helped her up. Before he could dare to sneak a kiss, a family came around and were surprised when they spotted them.

“Hello!” The other campers called out. The children spotted her camera.

“Are you taking pictures?” the little boy asked.

“I am.” Esther replied.

“Did you get any bears?” the little girls asked nervously.

Esther smiled at her, “no bears here.” The family continued leaving them alone again.

“Are you sure?” Charles asked giving that look again. Good lord, Esther thought to herself. She was going to need to not be alone with this guy. He was making her melt like butter. Tim hollered for them as soon as he spotted them, followed by the other three. She could only laugh as she walked past Charles.

“We heard there’s been some close bear sightings last night,” Sidney spoke as he got close. Of course, he had seen Charles trying to make a move, but before he could lead the others away, Tim had spotted Esther and ruined the moment.

“I was worried.” Augusta commented.

“Safe and sound,” Charles spoke, trying to act not perturbed at his sister. They all wandered back to their campsite. Charlotte had made friends at campers that were nearby. They decided to pool some of their resources to have dinner. Two men and a lady were from Georgia. Rosie Stringer, along with her brother James and Fred, had decided to complete part of the trail before the end of June.

The campers were on the trail for a long time and spoke of their adventures. Up until recently, they had trekked into some of the more rugged terrain and had not seen many people. Tim and Sidney had taken to a discussion with them about which parts of the trails that were better than others.

Rosie asked Esther about her photography. She seemed interested in her photos from overseas. She then spoke to Charlotte about being in public relations and Augusta in business. Esther went to set up her cameras on tripods around camp. She hoped to get photos if any wildlife had decided to visit in the middle of the night.

“You look out of place,” Rosie spoke to Charles.

“Yes, I guess I am. This is my first time on the trail.”

“Well, it seems you have some knowledgeable friends.” Rosie looked over towards Tim and Sidney.

“They are. I would hate to be here without them.” Sidney and Tim joined the group along with the other two men. The discussion took a turn to the weather.

“I don’t suppose you caught the weather for the next few days before you headed out.” Fred asked them.

“A little cool tonight and chance of some light rain tomorrow. Past that, I wasn’t paying attention since we will be heading back tomorrow.” Tim replied. “I hope you have some coffee.”

Rosie’s companions, her brothers James and Fred, laughed. “We’ve been out of coffee for days.”

“We have hot chocolate.” Charles mentioned.

“We do?” Tim asked.

“I brought some. Never go camping without it. Even got marshmallows.” Augusta gave him a look. He has never gone camping as far as she knew.

James laughed. “Perfect. I’ll go get my kettle of water.”

Rosie spoke about working in a small town where James and Fred had a construction business. Business had slowed down, and they decided to take a much-needed break. Rosie had petitioned for the beach but was overruled as they had gone the last two years to Florida. Rosie perked up when she heard Charlotte speaking about going to Myrtle Beach, as she has not been there.

Tim stoked up the fire as it started to turn a little crisp. The ladies went to get their hoodies and their mugs.

“Better keep the marshmallows away from Esther or she’ll eat the whole bag and not share.” Tim looked at Charles as he walked back over with his impulse purchase.

Sidney gave him a look, “never go camping without hot chocolate?” Charles could only let out a light laugh. They sat around the fire and enjoyed their time together.

Rosie looked around. Apparently, they were all couples as far as she could tell. The hot chocolate gone and most of the marshmallows, Rosie and her brothers headed back to their tents with a promise to see them off tomorrow.

“What time are we leaving?” Charlotte asked as she yawned. She was worn out. Augusta too by the look of her.

“No later than eight I would say.” Tim looked at Sidney and Charles.

“Well then,” Charlotte said, “I’m going to bed.” Augusta agreed with her. Esther decided she would go to before she ended up alone with Charles.

The three gentlemen could only laugh as they were left by themselves. They stayed up a little longer, then headed to their tent as well.

Night passed quickly. As usual, Esther was up early and was taking down her cameras. Tim had stepped out of the tent to help. They decided to go for a walk while the others were still sleeping.

“Remind me again why sleeping in a tent is fun?” Esther asked him.

“It makes you appreciated your bed when you get home.”

Esther frowned.

“What’s that look for?”

“I just remembered all the beds were put up for all that work I was going to do when I got back.”

“Guess you will be sleeping on the couch.”

“Well, it is comfortable at least.”

“When do you think you might leave for the beach?”

“I guess I will go home for a few days and get a couple of the bedrooms done so I will at least have something done when I get back. You are thinking about building sandcastles?”

Tim laughed. “Sure, unless you don’t want the company.”

“I’ll think about it. I was hoping to get a few days by myself.”

“You think the sleepy heads are stirring yet?”

“Maybe.”

They found Rosie, James and Fred up and packing.

Fred looked at Esther. “Where’s the rest of your group?”

Esther laughed. “Still sleeping, although if you mention B-E-A-R-S, that will probably be enough.”

Rosie looked at her. “Oh, I wouldn’t wish that on anyone! Esther, I was wondering if you have an email so you could send me some photos? I brought my camera, but the battery died the first day.”

“Sure, let me go get my notebook.” Esther wrote it down and gave it to her.

“Thanks so much.”

“Do you know if there’s any hot chocolate left?” James asked. Sidney and Charles finally stirred out of the tent. Tim went to go look.

“Oh, finally decide to get up?” Tim asked them as he walked by.

Charles remembered why he did not like this activity. His body was not happy about sleeping on the ground. Of course, he had not slept on the ground since his early days. He looked up to see Esther giving Rosie something before putting her notepad back in her cargo pocket. “How is it that both of you look like you’ve been up for some time?”

Tim smiled. “Habit.”

Charles was in the habit of getting up early too, but it seemed that Esther and Tim got up even earlier than that.

Tim handed some packets to James. “No marshmallows?”

Esther smiled and laughed. “Nope, I ate the rest of them this morning.”

“Guess that means, its granola for us Rosie.” 

Esther and Tim went back to their campsite. Esther went into the tent to see if Augusta and Charlotte were stirring yet while the boys went to take care of some stuff.

“Well, are you going to get up or sleep the day away?”

Augusta stretched out. “I wish I could, but I have meetings Monday afternoon. I must get back tonight. I will need to catch a flight out of Asheville.”

“Where do you live Charlotte?”

“Sidney and I are in Wilmington.”

“I’ll be going to Wrightsville Beach soon.”

“Maybe we can meet up for a girls’ day?” Charlotte was glad Esther would be coming that way.

“Sure.”

“I’m jealous.” Augusta laughed.

“Maybe we can come up some weekend?” Charlotte looked over to Esther.

Esther laughed out loud. “I know I’m not working but I don’t know if I have that much free time.”

“Well, at least think about it.”

“I think Augusta will at least promise us a soft bed.” Charlotte said laughing.

The men came back and heard an awful lot of laughing going on in the tent.

“Hey, is this still a sleepover or you going to get packing?” Tim teased them as they came out of the tent.

“Why are you yelling at us? Your tent is still up.” Esther quipped at him.

“Not for long.” Tim went to tear down while Sidney and Charles packed up their bag. Esther helped Charlotte and Augusta pack up their bags, while the guys tore down the other tent.

Charles was ready to get back and he was not, as he looked at Esther. He had meetings to make up for from Friday and some for Monday morning. He remembered that Dr. Evers left a message about leaving keys for her somewhere, Tim had mentioned Dr. Evers had a house in Wrightsville Beach, and she mentioned to Aunt Sophia about going to a beach. If he were lucky, he would be closer than she may realize.

Sidney and Charlotte had to get back as well for their jobs. Augusta would need to fly out from Asheville. It seemed Tim and Esther were really the only two that had the luxury of leisurely returning, although Charles figured Tim had work on Monday as well.

“Charles?” Sidney spoke to him. Charles turned his focus to him. “Good grief, get it together.”

“What?”

“I mean you were obviously staring. Any longer, you would have been drooling as well.” Charles laughed at him.

“Whatever.”

All packed up, they headed with a little more purpose than on their trip to their destination after saying goodbye to Rosie, James and Fred. Esther decided to not take photos on the way out to help save time. She needed to get home herself. Not to mention, a meeting with Dr. Montgomery tomorrow. She had to admit, she was feeling much better than Friday evening, but maybe that was strictly because she was no longer looking through a lens for a wedding shoot.

They pushed through four hours fairly good before really taking a decent break. Sidney looked at Charlotte. She was going to be so happy to be back at home in the bed. Charlotte looked up and caught his gaze. He gave her a smile that made her knees weak. She knew what he was thinking.

They ran into some other hikers the next hour, so since they were slowed down, they broke up in walking pairs.

“Well Charlotte,” Sidney began, “ready to come back?”

Charlotte laughed. “Oh, I think I need more practice! Definitely maybe a pair of proper hiking boots.”

Sidney laughed. “Just be glad it wasn’t anything harder to start out with. There are places on the trail that even I’m leery to go sometimes.”

“Do you miss it?”

“I’d miss you more if you didn’t come.” He smiled at her and leaned over to give her a quick kiss.

“Get a room,” Augusta teasingly mumbled as her and Tim were behind them. Sidney gave her a quick smile before looking back towards the trail.

There were some hikers that got between the group as they continued. Charles was not complaining though as it left him with Esther out of ear shot from Sidney. Sidney would no doubt tease him mercifully if he could hear some of the thoughts going through his head.

“So, were you really going to a beach sometime?”

“I’ve got a few things I need to do around home before I can go, but yes. Dr. Evers has a place over in Wrightsville beach area.”

“Scott’s parents?”

“Oh, someone has been snooping.”

“Well, you never sent a bill, so I went online to find you.”

“How that turn out?”

“You are pretty hard to find. I actually found you through Clara’s page.”

“Oh, good old Clara.”

“So, you really aren’t keeping up with social media?”

“As Tim would say, I’m pretty oblivious to what’s going on. Besides, I was working on my master’s degree, so I had that going on.”

“Well, you got more time now.”

“Yeah, I don’t know. I hear plenty of people getting sucked in and losing countless hours on their phone.”

“You know Wilmington isn’t that far.”

Esther looked at him. “I don’t know. I’m going to be pretty busy building sandcastles.”

“Maybe it will rain.”

“Your horrible. No one wants to build sandcastles in the rain.”

“Well, then maybe I can get that date.” He stopped her and pulled her slightly off the trail so other hikers could pass them. “I’m serious Esther.” Charles looked at her. Esther could feel her heart rate increasing. Before she could say anything, he kissed her gently. He did not want to wait until they all got back to the cars. At least here, even with all the other hikers, they did not have to worry about their friends watching them. He deepens his kiss slightly before he pulled away. “Come on,” he took her hand, “they will be sending a search party.” He had to let go once the trail got rockier.

Esther was still hearing her heartbeat in her ears as she followed behind Charles. If he kept kissing her like that, whew, she was going to be in trouble quick. Sophia would be happy at least. The crowd got thicker as they came near their entry point. Esther was able to see the rest of them up ahead. The packs unloaded into the truck, they split up to head for Tim’s place to get the rest of their stuff. Esther had no desire to drive the two-hour trip home. She could only imagine how tired the rest of them would be since they still had a long way to go.

Esther watched as the four of them, Augusta, Charles, Sidney and Charlotte, all got out their phones once they got back to the cars. Lost all of them, she mused. They arrived back and there was a flurry of activity while Esther and Tim sat at the dining room table.

“You going to stay?” Tim asked her.

“Yeah, I really don’t think I want to drive back tonight. Besides, I will probably go check on Uncle Jack on my way back. It’d just be easier unless you want to kick me out.”

“No, I think I will have peace and quiet once everybody leaves. You look like you could use some sleep.”

“Thanks for telling me how awful I look.”

“You are welcome.” Esther rolled her eyes at him while he laughed at her. “Pizza?”

“I guess.” Tim went to his office to place an order.

“Esther?” She found Augusta and Charlotte looking at her. “You going to give us your phone number?” 

Charles was not too far behind. He took it one step further as he put his number in her contact list and then called himself from her phone so he would have her number. “You know just in case I get lost again.” He heard Sidney snickering at him as he texted the contact card to Augusta and Charlotte.

“Just remember the rates went up.” He chuckled at her.

“Well, I feel left out.” Tim said as he came back into the kitchen. 

“Well, since Charles used your phone you shouldn’t feel that way.” Charles looked at Tim, then Esther. “I’m joking.” The look was priceless though. Augusta and Charlotte texted Esther. Esther looked at Tim. “I guess I can barter with you for lodging?” Esther smiled.

Tim looked at Augusta, who smiled at him. Tim carried out Augusta’s bag following behind Sidney and Charlotte.

“You going to keep in touch this time?” Charles asked her as they headed slowly to the door.

“Not my fault you didn’t ask for my number to start with.”

“I thought you might have been mad at me.”

“Is that why you always seem so apologetic?”

He looked at her as his gaze lowered to her lips. “I just want to make sure you remember me.” He pushed her up against the wall and kissed her like he wanted just to prove his point. He stepped back, “text me back later.”

Esther followed slightly behind after she got her composure back. He gave her a smile as he got into his car.

“What’s wrong with you?” Tim asked her after the guests had left. 

“Nothing. When is the pizza going to be here?”

“Another thirty minutes.”

“Good, I’m starving.”

“You know you should eat better before going out on the trail.”

“I know. It’s the lack of available plumbing that keeps me that way.” Esther went to get her laptop and the memory cards from the cameras. She set up on the dining room table.

“So, you and Charles a thing now?”

“What?”

“Oh, come on. It was pretty obvious.”

“What about you and Augusta?”

“I’m believe you got further than I did.”

“I have no idea what you mean.”

“I know he kissed you Friday morning.”

“How do you know that?”

“Truck ride to Gatlinburg. Anything else?” Tim had a teasing gleam in his eye.

“Just a kiss.” Or two she thought. “Maybe a date when I’m at the beach.”

“Man, he doesn’t waste no time.” No, he does not Esther thought to herself. What was worse was she was not sure she was going to slow him down either.

“What about Augusta?”

“She’s pretty busy with her work. I may head up that way next weekend unless you need more shots from the trail.”

“Well, then I guess I better cross reference my list to see if I accomplished my job. I would hate to interfere with your schedule.”

“Ha, you forget. I work for myself and can telework anytime I want.”

Esther separated the photos from the camp by subject matter, keeping the special shots in a folder all by themselves to look at later. She had to work on the photos from the wedding as well.

Tim and Esther took a break to eat. Esther went back to work for an hour before she decided she was ready for an early bed. She wanted a hot shower and fluffy blankets. She packed up her laptop and set out her stuff for tomorrow. The rest of her clothes she threw in the washer. No sense in taking dirty clothes home. She emerged later in her flannel pjs to move her laundry to the dryer.

Tim caught her as she went to the kitchen for a soda. “You know you are going to need something better than that.”

“What?”

“I’m mean for Charles.”

Esther rolled her eyes. “Like he’s going to see my pjs.”

“Oh, I forgot. You like to walk around naked at home.”

“You are terrible.” Tim laughed at her as she went back to her room.


	27. The Plan for the Beach

Sidney looked over at Charlotte as he drove back to Wilmington. She was worn out and was struggling to stay awake after they had gotten a quick bite to eat through the drive through.

“So, you are going to make it tomorrow to work?” Sidney asked her during one of her conscious moments.

“Hmm. I just need some sleep. I didn’t realize how much I would get wore out.” Sidney laughed.

“So, you are ready for me to plan another weekend?” Charlotte glanced over at him. “Maybe for two?” Sidney gave her a wink and Charlotte blushed at his meaning.

“Do people really?” Sidney forgot how innocent Charlotte had been.

“Of course. All sorts of things go on out there. The last time I was on a trail, some girl who went hiking by herself had gotten lost and ended up disappearing. I think they only found her dog at a local gas station.”

“That is terrible.”

“Yes, never go alone.” Especially you, he thought. Charlotte was always so trusting to everyone and hardly had a bad opinion on anybody. Sidney laughed. Except maybe him when they had first met. Soon though, he hoped to ask for her hand finally. Waiting all this time was excruciating, but he knew he had a lot of trust to rebuild. “Try to take a nap, Miss Heywood. I thoroughly hope to spend some time with you after we get home.” He gave her a devilish look.

Charles listened as Augusta planned for flights out of Asheville. One for him, back to home and hers back to Roanoke. She would have to take a commercial flight, but he had the charter. He smiled at her. A perk for being the boss, he thought.

He wondered if Esther would like to go to Myrtle Beach for the holiday. He had not been to an amusement park since before college. It occurred to him that maybe she did not like them or might have an aversion to some of the rides. He hoped not. He loved roller coasters. Spinning rides though, he had to take a little at a time or he would get a headache.

He pulled into the airport and dropped Augusta off for her flight. “Alright, let me know when you get home.”

Augusta smiled at him. He always worried about her. “I will. Maybe I will see you in Myrtle with Esther?”

He shook his head and laughed. “Go on.”

He parked his car in the airport long term parking lot. He would send Tanner over in the week for it. Maybe when he was on his date. Charles walked on board of the plane and sat down. He went through his calendar on the laptop to see if he could move some appointments around later in the week. He was not sure how long Esther had planned on being in town, but he was going to make the most of it.

A ping on messages. He smiled. It was from Esther. Looking at it, he laughed. It was truly short and direct. He sent one back to let her know about Augusta making it towards home. Esther thought he was still driving and told him she would text tomorrow so he would not get distracted and lost on the way home. It still amazed him that she seemed oblivious to who he was. He had not made any of the local news for a while, but he thought she would still look him up on social media. She really must have an aversion to it.

Esther woke up and stretched out on the bed. This weekend had been crazy, but overall, very enjoyable. She looked at her phone. A late text from Charles. She smiled. Perhaps, she needed a clean start. She would ask Dr. Montgomery on his professional opinion. She laughed thinking of how the old man would be astounded at her thoughts. She had given him an extremely hard time opening and it had taken many months of meetings for her to finally get a glimpse of her mind.

She got up, got dressed and loaded up Goliath. She ate a quick breakfast with Tim before letting him know she would talk to him later. As she headed for Maggie Valley, she did some deep reflecting. Dr. Montgomery would be incredibly surprised at her.

Esther walked into the nursing home. Uncle Jack was as spirited as ever as the group was together discussing war tactics. The local legion would stop by on Mondays to meet with the veterans. “Good morning, Uncle Jack!” Esther called out as he waved at her. She greeted the others who she knew.

“What a surprise!”

“I had a meeting in town and thought I would come see my favorite uncle.”

“I’m your only uncle.”

“Well, then it’s not much competition!”

“You look like you got some sun.”

“I went to the trail with Tim.”

“Not Tim.”

“Oh, he’s just a friend.”

“Esther.”

“Charles went to along with his sister and a couple of his friends.” Esther shyly said.

Uncle Jack perked up on that. “Really? I knew I liked him.”

“Uncle Jack it was just a trail trip.”

“So, no date?”

Esther laughed. “Maybe when I head up to Wrightsville Beach. I am going to go there later this week. I need to set up the house again.”

“What have you been doing to my house?”

“I repainted the bedrooms, but I left all the beds in the garage while I was away. I need to set them up that way when I get back from the beach, I won’t have to sleep on the couch.”

“Well, it needed an update to it anyway.” Uncle Jack coughed hard.

“Are you alright?”

“It’s nothing. Just a little cold here and there. Going to take something more serious to keep a good man down.” Esther smiled at him. She spent another hour there listening to the other veteran’s talking about their time in the military.

Esther departed and pulled into the parking lot. She took a deep breath. She reminded herself she needed to be honest with herself and the doctor. The receptionist greeted her promptly. She sat in the waiting room and looked around. She found she had a missed text from Charles who had texted her to see if she was sleeping in today. She replied and turned her phone on silent while she was escorted back to the meeting room.

Dr. Montgomery was still as open as friendly as ever. An older man, he listened to her patiently of her concerns, and then asked her questions about what she had been up to over the last year since he seen her. Esther swallowed hard before being completely open with him. He would have to know everything in order to make the best judgement call. There was no reason to hold back. She had been through this before.

“I think you are just nervous Esther, and rightly so. I believe your resilience is better now than it ever was. I must admit I expected a totally different person today after your call. Why not tell me what seemed to change over the weekend.”

Dr. Montgomery smiled at her. “Well, Dr. Bennett always said you were a bright girl. I would have to agree with his medical opinion. I think you are just nervous to put yourself out there. There isn’t much I can do about that other than talk with you as you navigate these waters.” Of course, being a Naval veteran, he would have to find a way to relate his military experience with her. “I would suggest, though, to examine on what you want and need out of a relationship.”

“What do you mean exactly?”

“Well, Rally represents a strong connection to the past, especially with Scott. You might be inclined to build that relationship just because of that and not really any true feelings. Charles on the other hand, is a fresh start.”

“I guess I didn’t think of it that way.”

“That’s why I make the big bucks.” Esther laughed at him. “How about you call me when you get back and we will have another talk.” Esther agreed and headed home. She stopped by Mary Lou’s house to let her know she was back for a few days before going to the beach.

Esther walked in and found that Mary Lou and Roger must have worked on the house while she was gone. They had set up her nice bed back in the big room. It looked like a very blank space. She was pleasantly surprised when Mary Lou stopped by with muffins and a few groceries so she would not starve.

Esther set up her laptop on the table and looked at the special photos while nibbling on her muffin. She made a phone call to Tim to let him know she was back home and when she thought she would head to Wrightsville. She texted Charles to see if he was still slaving away at work.

She spent the rest of the afternoon and evening, texting Augusta and Charlotte, working on the photos for Mr. Hankins. The wedding photo shoot did not seem to bother her this time. She was putting her clothes away when the phone rang.

Esther smiled as she answered.

“Miss me yet?”

“Who is this again?”

“Funny. What are you doing?”

“Well, if you really want to know, I’ve got my feet up and I’m watching a movie.”

“With Bruce?”

“No, I thought maybe I should get in touch with my inner feelings.”

“I think you’ve been hanging out with Augusta too much. She’s a bad influence.” Esther laughed. “You figured out when you were going to the beach?”

“Well, let me get my calendar out.” He heard her flipping through a book. “Why, yes. It looks like I can pencil in some time this weekend.”

“I thought you missed my apologies.”

Esther smiled through the phone. “I might need a refresher.” Charles laughed.

“Seriously you are not coming until the weekend?” Charles realized he sounded a little hurt that she was not coming tomorrow.

“I didn’t realize you missed my hostile attitude.”

“Oddly enough, I do.” Charles mused to himself. He did. It took a lot of resolve not to cancel his meetings all week just so he could go back to her. Esther was surprised on how quick the response came. Did he really miss her that much?

She trembled on the other side of the phone. He had no idea that she was happy and terrified at the same time. This could end so badly, a part of her mind warned her. She took a deep breath and whispered into the phone, “Wednesday.”

Charles about dropped the phone. He quickly recovered himself, “See that wasn’t so hard Miss Denham.”

Esther laughed. ‘You have no idea’ she whispered to herself. “I’ve got to finish the photos for that wedding and go see Aunt Sophia before I leave.”

“Well, don’t let the battle axe scare you.” Charles wanted to stay on the phone all night with her. If she was coming Wednesday, he knew he had to work late tonight and tomorrow to clear the deck. “Will you text me tomorrow? I’ll be busy during the day but would like to hear from you.” He realized he just said something to a girl that he had not ever done before. Normally, it was all business during the day and did not want to be bothered.

“I suppose I can put that in my schedule.”

Charles was smiling on the other side. “You going to dream about me?” Good lord, what was he doing? He had done nothing but dream about her since he met her.

“I’ll let you know.” Esther held her breath.

“Well then, till tomorrow. Goodnight Esther.”

“Goodnight Charles.” He hung up first. Esther let out her breath with a sigh.

Esther sent the email and shut down her laptop as she prepared to leave to see Aunt Sophia, the battle axe. She laughed. She was too.  
Esther sent Charles a text to let him know she had arrived at the battle axe’s house and if she did not send any other replies, it meant to call Jester.

“Well, I see the weekend must have been a good time. You got a lot of sun.”

“A reaction from being outside for hours at a time.”

“Are you still going to the beach?”

“I leave tomorrow.”

“Which beach?”

“Wrightsville.”

“Why there?”

Esther was prepared for this question. She could tell her because she had an open invitation with Scott’s parents or just tell her since it was close to Charles. Fresh start she reminded herself.

“Charles invited me on a date. I thought it would be easiest.”

Aunt Sophia’s eyes lit up on his name. “Oh, he did, did he.” She smiled at her niece. “When did he do that?”

“Thursday”

“Before our meeting?”

“Yes.”

Aunt Sophia studied her and raised her eyebrows. “I will have to say I’m impressed. I thought it would take more persuasion.” Not if you knew how he kissed, Esther mused to herself.

“Maybe I wasn’t thinking straight.” Esther studied her. “I mean that’s why you told him to drop off the contract in person isn’t it?”

Sophia smiled at her. “Of course. I thought you blew it when you brought that other guy with you.”

“Tim. I’ve told you, he’s just a friend.”

“Is he still chasing after the other young lady?”

“Charles’ sister, Augusta and yes.” Esther could tell Aunt Sophia was thinking about something. “I’ve got to drop off the photos to Mr. Hankins. Do you want to get something to eat in town with me?”

“Sure. I will be happy to spend some time with you.” Esther texted Charles while Sophia went to get her purse. ‘The battle axe is taking me out to lunch.’

Charles laughed as he read the message in between his meetings. He called Sarah in and told her to move some stuff around on his calendar. He wanted the next few days to have as little on them as possible.


	28. New Beginnings

Lunch with Sophia went pleasantly well, despite talking about Edward’s pending nuptials with Clara. Sophia looked over the photos for Mr. and Mrs. Hankins. “These are really good.”

“I’m surprised they turned out so well. I haven’t really done personal photo shoots for so long.”

“Well, I’m sure they will appreciate it. I would imagine the salary of a minister of faith isn’t much.”

“How is it you heard about them again?”

Sophia laughed. “Do you remember us meeting a Mr. Bingley last year?”

“Yes.”

“Well, he bought a small cabin last year for his sister when she comes to visit. His wife was not inclined to allow the hateful woman to stay in the same home when they are in town.”

“What makes her so hateful?”

Sophia laughed. “Apparently, she’s a model. I guess she dates only high-profile men. I have never met her, but I have heard she is quite the lady. Anyway, I guess his sister, Caroline, has been in France for fashion week and would not need it until this weekend. Apparently, Mr. Hankins had married a good friend of his, a Mr. Darcy, and he wanted to show his appreciation. I guess that wedding was a quick affair.”

Esther let out a small laugh. “Much like Edwards?”

“No, I believe Mr. Darcy didn’t want to be separated from the young lady any longer. I guess they had a turbulent courtship.”

“You know I believe you are making up those names based on your romantic ideas. You’ve been reading too much Jane Austen.”

“Nonsense. They used to own a cabin in Pigeon Forge named Darcy’s Place. Apparently, it was very Austen themed.”

Esther let out such a laugh that it startled Sophia. “That is the cabin Tim just bought and remodeled.”

“He bought such a place?”

“Yes, it is very nice.”

“I didn’t realize he was that good at his job.”

“He is. He has made some exceptionally good recommendations.”

“So, you have someone looking over what little you have?”

Esther gave her aunt a look. “I told you Scott left me some. He would not see me desolate.”

“I know you like for me to stay out of your affairs, but I consider you more family than Edward.”

“I know, Aunt Sophia. I truly do appreciate it, but honestly, I am alright.” They finished up lunch and Sophia’s parting advice was to make sure she dressed nice for Charles. No ripped jeans, no sweatpants, get some decent clothes for this trip and a low-cut dress all to which Esther laughed. That is until she looked in her closet at home.   
He said he usually wore suits. Other than buying something for the trail, did he dress that way all the time? Good grief, Esther let out a disgusted sigh. She picked out some of her nicer clothes and gathered up stuff for the trip.

She called Jester to let him know that she would be going out of town and asked him to pop over just to make sure nothing happened to the house while she was out. She also informed her trusted neighbors, who were all too happy after the party incident. It had been relatively quiet for almost six months until then.

She reviewed what she packed nervously. She took a deep breath. It was just a date, she reminded herself. She made sure she had her phone charger and her cameras. It would be at least six hours to get there. She looked at the clock. She could leave and still get there at a decent time. It would give her some extra time to relax before he realized she was in town. Resolved, she took care of setting the timers for the lights and locked up. She texted him before she left and would need to do so in route so he would think she was at home.

She decided she would the rest of the day to text test his true knowledge of Star Wars.

Charles looked at his phone and realized he was being quizzed on Star Wars. Fair enough, he thought amused. The texts in the afternoon were fairly on a schedule. She was probably worried about interrupting his meetings.

Sarah, the temp, he mused as she came in bringing the last of the day’s memo’s for signatures was nervous as she was not sure if she were to wait or to come back. A loud boisterous voice rang out as it walked through the door, scaring the poor girl.

“Babington!” Mr. Alexander Crowe, or Crowe as his friends really called him, came in the door loud and obnoxious as always.

Sarah turned to look at the man upset that he had done so without an appointment. “I’m sorry sir. You cannot just come in here. Mr. Babington is busy. If you want, I can set you up an appointment.” Crowe looked at her than back over to Babington before letting out a loud laugh. “Sir, if you don’t leave, I will have to call for security.”

“Come back for an appointment? Do you not know who I am?”

“Should I?”

“Babington, tell her you will see me before she calls security.” Babington watched as Crowe was clearly looking at Sarah with a knowing look.

“Miss Sarah, this is Alexander Crowe, my very good friend.”

“I thought I was your best friend?”

“Depends on the day.” Babington teased him back.

Sarah looked at Charles then back at Crowe all apologetic. “I apologize Mr. Crowe, but Mr. Babington is still terribly busy. Perhaps, you can come back later.” Crowe laughed at her boldness.

“It’s alright Miss Sarah. He can stay, I’m sure it will not be long.” Sarah closed the door as she went back to her desk.

“I came to get your apology for standing me up.”

“It couldn’t be helped. I had to get to Asheville for a meeting and the flights were all cancelled.”

“You could have left on Saturday or even Sunday and still made it. It’s really not that far.”

Crowe poured himself a drink from the bar and motioned over to Charles who declined.

“Where have you been this weekend?”

“Out of town.”

Crowe sat down across from him at his desk. “I know that. I’m looking for details, man.”

Charles laughed. “I went hiking with Sidney.”

“I heard you went hiking with a red head and green eyes, fairly good to look at, according to my sources.”

Charles raised an eyebrow at him. “I see you’ve been talking to Sidney.”

Crowe laughed. “He seems to be the only one talking to me of late.” Crowe waited. “So, how was she?”

“Very crude Crowe to suggest such a thing.”

“Oh, don’t get your panties all twisted. I would just figure after that Bingley creature you were enjoying being footloose and fancy free.”

“Like yourself.”

“Yes, apparently, my small lapse in judgement last week confirmed my opinion of women. Apparently, I had been catfished.”

“Maybe you should stop trying to meet women in chat rooms.”

“Yes, well, after some looking on social media I found out. Good thing too, fortune hunter as she was. I’m tired of meeting women who are trying to trap me in handing out my money as if I don’t have need of it.”

“Maybe you should find someone not on social media?”

“Who is not on social media?”

Charles smiled at him.

“Good grief, how in the world would you find the only woman not on social media.”

“Clearly by accident, I tell you.”

“Does she have a sister?”

Charles laughed. “I don’t think so.”

“Well, that’s a shame. Tell me, she coming this way? Perhaps, she’ll change her mind and want someone darker and more sinister?”

Charles gave him a look. “Oh, no you don’t. Find your own, but yes. She will be here later this week. So, if you do not mind, I’m trying to get ahead of work.”

Crowe looked at him. “Well, I am surprised Babington. Fine, I will see if Miss Sarah can pencil me in for a proper appointment.”

Esther pulled into the driveway of the condo. It was just as she remembered. She wondered if inside was the same as well. She could not believe it as she opened the door. It was. She took in a deep breath. She found a note on the table from Molly sent to email about housekeeping and the rest of the staff. Esther smiled. They were too good for her. 

She opened the door to the room she always had when she visited. A breath caught in her throat. The bedding had been updated, but the books that lined up the custom shelving were the same. She unpacked her things and set up her laptop on the table in the dining room. She wanted to get the photos off to Rosie as well as get the others done for Charlotte for a surprise.

She found the refrigerator had been stocked with orange cream soda, root beer and water for her. She smiled as they had remembered. There were a few quick-frozen meals to which she took one to the microwave while she looked at the photos. She received another text from Charles, surprised that he was still at work. It was almost eleven. She texted him back saying she was going to bed early for the drive. It seemed like a good excuse.

She ate quickly and cleaned up her mess. She went upstairs and stood outside the door to Scott’s room. She swallowed hard. If she were lucky, everything would be changed. If not, then it could be a bad night if it were too much. She knew she would not be able to sleep at night knowing she never looked. She turned the knob.

It was slightly both. The bed had been removed and chairs added. It was like a private reading room. Custom shelving on the interior wall, pictures and mementos of his service hung on the other open walls. She glanced over the books. They were all his favorite types of books. She took a lingering look at his awards that decorated the wall. She sat down in the chair and closed her eyes. This would be the kind of room he would have wanted to have. A small table contained the chess set that had used so many times along with a short stack of books. Esther looked at their titles. All Jane Austen’s works.

Esther let out a breath of surprise. He had been reading and studying Austen before he had asked for her to marry him. She lifted the glass plane off the top of the books. Pride and Prejudice on the top, she placed it in her hands carefully. It was clearly read. There was a photo peeking out from the pages and another piece of paper. She took a breath and flipped through it.

It contained highlighted paragraphs and underline words. She looked at the inside cover and dropped the book. This was her copy that she thought she had lost on the beach; it had her name on the inside. Esther Viola Eling. He had written a small message to her and had added his name at the end, Evers. Evee. She had always wondered how he came up with the name. She flipped to the photo. It was from the night on the Farris wheel. Esther looked at the two young people that had been etched in her memory for so long. Lastly, she came across the paper that was in the book. It was from the funeral. Esther dropped the book and began to cry.

She left it laying on the floor as she went to her room and buried her face in the pillow. She should not have come into that room. Esther did not know how long she cried. All she knew was she awoke later than her normal routine by a few hours. As she walked into the kitchen, she heard a light knock on the door.

Opening it, she remembered Mrs. Collins from before. “Mrs. Collins, it is so nice to see you.”

Mrs. Collins, an older lady in her fifty’s, smiled at her. The family’s personal housekeeper who had been working for them when Scott was a young boy. “I am so glad to see you return Miss Esther.” Esther stood aside as the lady walked in. “Dr. Evers had called me to make sure if you needed anything, I was to take care of it.”

“Well, I think I will strive not to cause too much trouble.”

“I see you are already eating breakfast.”

Esther laughed. “Yes, I missed dinner last night and I was starving.” Mrs. Collins sat down, and they reacquainted themselves for the missed years.

Mrs. Collins was ever so polite even when she started asking personal questions. Esther knew she would keep her confidence and related she had found her old book that Scott had kept. Mrs. Collins smiled at her. “He was very proud of himself when he had taken it from the beach when you were busy building sandcastles with your other friend that came for a visit.”

“Tim?”

“Yes, that was his name. Do you still speak with him?”

“I do. He is truly a good friend. He hopes to come up for a visit maybe this weekend.”

“Oh, he should. Do you remember Sam Sidaway?”

“Yes, how is he?”

“Well, he purchased a small bar near here and has been trying to rebuild the business after the last storm. He hoped to raise some money not only for his business but for some of the others who were not so lucky, He had managed to pay his insurance premiums but some of the others had let theirs lapse.”

“What is trying to do to raise the money?”

“I’m not sure, but I’m sure Sam would be very happy to see you.”

“Well, I shall get dressed to take a walk then.” Esther stood up. “Mrs. Collins?”

“Yes dear?”

“Would it be too much trouble for you to press some of my suits?”

“Oh! Are you here on business?”

Esther laughed. “I’m afraid I have let myself get snookered into a date and Aunt Sophia instructed me that I better dress nice or she would never speak to me again. I’m afraid I’m slightly out of practice with the iron since I got out of the service.”

“It would be my pleasure. Will the young man be coming by?”

“Charles, and probably tomorrow. I snuck into town early.”

“Very good. Is there anything else you might need?” Esther was not sure she wanted beer in the fridge after last night. It could be too much. “Maybe some popcorn and some honey ham and stuff to make sandwiches? I’m not really sure what my schedule will be.”

Mrs. Collins smiled at her and went to make a list before leaving.

Esther took a large hat to block the sun and put on sunscreen before she walked out. She was bound to get sunburn quickly if she was not careful. She walked the path from the back of the house onto the clean sand. She picked up her sandals and walked along the edge of the tide towards the boardwalk.

Sam’s place was easy to spot as it was right on the corner. He was busy as always sweeping the sand off from the outside dining area. “I must be getting heat stroke. Is that Miss Esther I see?” He called out to her cheerfully.

“Hi, Sam, how are you?” Esther said as the man gave her a bear hug.

“Come in out of the sun. Wouldn’t want my duchess to turn into a lobster.” Sam held the door for her as she walked in. “I was one of the luckier guys from the last storm.”

“I heard there was some bad damage out here and some businesses didn’t have insurance.”

“Yes, terrible losses but at least no lives. Had a couple of foolish kids trying to surf in the high waves as usual but the police were able to chase them off before too long.”

“Mrs. Collins tells me you are trying to do a fund raiser?”

“Yes,” he let out a breath, “although I am struggling a little. I had a band set up for Saturday evening, but their lead singer is sick, and they have no backup singer.” Sam studied her. “I don’t suppose you could fill in?”

Esther laughed. “It has been a long time Sam.”

“It was just an opening act before open mic karaoke. Just a few songs? I would appreciate it.”

“Do I get to pick?”

“Well, you can pick but they know mostly country. Their manager will be by in an hour if you would want to talk to him.”

“I guess I can at least do that. Although, you’ll have to pay me in root beer.”

Sam smiled at her. “I’m glad to hear it’s still your favorite.”

“I’ll go take some pictures. Maybe you could sell them to raise funds as well.”

Sam leaned over the table and took her hand. “You are simply a saint, Miss Esther.”

“Well, that maybe a stretch, but I will try to help. I know Dr. Evers and Molly love this beach.” Esther walked around and took pictures before returning to speak with the band manager.

“Frank Churchill, this is Esther Eling. She might be able to help you all out, so you don’t have to cancel your gig.” Frank was a nice-looking guy who held out his hand to shake her hand. He looked familiar.

“It is a pleasure. Sam tells me you can sing and play.” Frank studied her and then remembered her. Scott Ever’s girl from a few years ago. The one that was always hanging around every time he was home on leave.

“It’s been a little bit, but I can play guitar and piano. I have not really sung for some time though. You may not want me to.”

“Can you play a tune now?” Frank looked over Esther as she went up and picked up the guitar. She was out of practice, but if was not until Saturday, then she could at least get one day in before then.

“Just like riding a bicycle Miss Esther!” Sam called out to her as she started. She was slightly nervous as Frank stared at her until she remembered to concentrate on something just over his head on the back wall. Esther mused, military briefings indeed. True to Sam’s word, as she played, the quicker it all returned to her. She placed the guitar back on the stand and stepped down from the stage.

“Well, if that is what you call rusty, I am sorry to say, that is better than our current leader.”

“Thank you, but I guarantee this is not my calling in life. I just sung in choir and at church.” They spent about twenty minutes talking over a few song selections and then she parted. He said he would personally deliver the guitar to her condo so she could practice at home. Esther went back to taking photos and then found her chair and towel, sat down in front of the water.

Esther realized she should have texted Charles by now. She laughed at the message.

“Are you lost?”

“No, I am well aware of how to reach my destination.” Esther bite her lower lip thinking about Charles. Would he want to see her tonight? There were so many scenarios going through her head. A local kid came by with an umbrella, thankfully. She looked at her photos as she waited for a reply to stay busy.

“And just what is the final destination or am I to assume you are camping in the sand?”

She laughed. “No, I prefer soft beds. I had enough of camping for the time being.” She waited a few minutes and sent him the address. Charles looked at the reply. The condo was not that far from his parent’s house on the coast. He wondered if he may have ever seen her on the beach and not known it.

“I’m working pretty late tonight, but I would like to come by if you can stay awake that long.”

Esther wondered how late he meant.

“Just for a minute,” he quickly added. He did not want to push her too fast even though the thought had still been running through his mind.

“As long as you don’t laugh at my pjs.”

“I’ll reserve judgement.” Why did she say that and put more thoughts in his head? Now, he was going to wonder just what kind of pjs she would be wearing. “Just how far away do you still need to go?”

“Charlotte.” He looked at his calendar. He could take a break and take some flowers. He looked up the property management company online to plan for a delivery. He was surprised when they said there was already someone there and would be there for the next few hours. Charles quickly buzzed Sarah to let her know he was stepping out and she would need to move the next two appointments over two hours.

Charles quickly went down the elevator and met Tanner. He had texted him Esther’s address and to find a florist nearby. He noticed Tanner had a smirky smile as he opened his door. 

Tanner pulled up to the florist, oddly enough happened to be Arthur’s Flowers. Sidney will no doubt hear about this before I even get out of the building.

“Ah, Charles Babington! I believe you are the last person I would think of visiting my humble shop.”

Charles laughed at him. “How are you Arthur?”

“Well, we sustained some damage from the storm, but hopefully the governor will get some relief for us.”

Charles frowned. He had wondered how many other local businesses had sustained damage. “What brings you here?”

“Flowers Arthur!”

“Oh, something special for the ladies?” Arthur knew that Charles had a line of ladies wherever he went.

Charles chuckled. “Just one Arthur.”

“Well, I shall be happy to make any recommendations unless you would like Diana’s opinion on the matter? You know she knows the ladies much better than I.” Diana Parker came out from the back room.

“I thought I heard your voice Mr. Babington.”

“Diana, I believe you can call me Charles. Sidney and I have been friends since grade school.”

“Very well,” she smiled friendly at him. “What brings you here?”

“Flowers!” Arthur chimed back in. “For a lady.” Diana looked over at Arthur who was wearing a large smile of enthusiasm.

She let out a little laugh. “Maybe you can tell me if there is something special you are looking for?”

Charles was out of his league here. He of course had bought his mother’s flowers and on occasion a date, but he generally did not waste his time. He found Diana’s interrogation of him and Esther a little intimidating. She was determined to make the absolute best selection. Finally, Diana came out of the back room bringing her creation. “They are stunning Diana.”

“I told you, she’s the best.” Arthur replied. “Would you like us to deliver them?”

“Actually, it’s not far from here. I think I will take them.” Arthur clapped his hands excitedly. He was always happy to see romance in bloom as he was romantic in his heart.  
Tanner pulled into the parking lot and Charles let out a sigh. She had misled him. He saw Goliath parked under the condo. It was sunny, hopefully she was out on the sand. 

Tanner opened the door and helped him to the door. He felt kind of silly.

Mrs. Collins opened the door. “Can I help you?”

“I have a delivery.”

Mrs. Collins laughed as she stepped aside, “So I see. Please come in. There is the dining room table nearby.” Charles spotted her laptop on the table. “They are beautiful.”

“Thank you,” Charles replied. “Is Esther here?”

Mrs. Collins laughed. “No, she’s been out since this morning.”

“This morning?”

“Yes, she arrived last night. I’m Mrs. Collins, by the way, the housekeeper.”

Charles realized he had overlooked her. “Charles Babington.” If she recognized his name, she showed no reflection of it.

“Well, Mr. Babington, I would expect her in another hour if you would want to wait.”

He wished he could. “I’m afraid I have to get back to work but if you could, please refrain from mentioning my personal delivery. I would like for it to be a surprise.”  
Mrs. Collins smiled brightly at him. “Not a word will come from me.” Charles liked the older lady already. Another knock at the door.

Mrs. Collins went back over and recognized Frank Churchill immediately. “Well, Frank Churchill. Whatever brings you here?”

“Hello Mrs. Collins. I brought Miss Esther a guitar to practice.”

“Practice?” Charles asked.

Frank gave him an appraising glance before a knowing smile, “Yes, Esther is going to play at Sam’s place on Saturday for the fund raiser.”

Esther was apparently full of surprises. “Fund raiser on Saturday?”

“Yes, Sam Sidaway has coordinated the local businesses on the boardwalk to raise money for those that don’t have insurance or are in need while they wait to get insurance to pay up.”

“Well, that’s our Miss Esther. Always thinking of others before herself.” Mrs. Collins commented. “I’ll let her know you stopped by.”

Charles looked at Frank as he walked down the pathway. “Where is Sam’s Place?”

Frank looked him over and Charles knew he was summing up the competition. “It’s the closest bar on the boardwalk from here. You are?”

Charles refrained from laughing. “Charles Babington.” He could see some sort of name recognition in his facial expression. Good, he will know to back off. Tanner opened Charles door while they left Frank watch them depart.

Charles took out his phone and texted Esther. “Still driving?”

“Not at the moment.” He laughed. True enough.

“I hope you brought sunscreen, it’s pretty sunny today.”

“Good to know.” As if she did not.

“You still going to be up later?”

“I’ll take a nap.” Charles growled as he looked at his schedule. It was going to be a late night if he wanted to take tomorrow and Friday off.

“Good. You’ll need your energy.” Ha, he thought. Let her stir over that one. She owed him an apology for not telling him she would be in town early.

Esther looked at the phone and blushed. She decided to head back to the condo to eat some late lunch. Esther used the outdoor shower to rinse off the sand before entering the condo from the open deck. Mrs. Collins was there fixing her a bite to eat.

“Did you have a good day?”

“Yes, although I got wrangled into singing.”

Mrs. Collins laughed. “Yes, Mr. Churchill brought a guitar to practice.” Esther went towards the foyer and stopped as she saw the flowers on the table.

Esther smelled the roses. “These are beautiful. Certainly, Frank didn’t bring them.”

Mrs. Collins smiled. “No, not Frank. He just brought the guitar. You had another admirer apparently.”

She must mean Charles. No one else knew she was here other than Tim and he would not do such a gesture. “They are stunning. I don’t know if I have ever seen such a display.” Esther took some pictures of them. “I don’t suppose you know their meaning?” Scott had only sent two types of flowers. Daises as they were here absolute favorite and red roses. She knew what they meant. A mixture of white and orange roses delicately blended with dusty miller in an awfully expensive looking vase.

“Well, white for new beginnings I would say in this case and the orange.” Mrs. Collins let out a little huff out of her nose. “I believe the orange represents passion and desire.” 

Esther could not help but blush. Mrs. Collins laughed at her. “I do believe he must be quite taken with you Miss Esther.”

Esther laughed. “I don’t know Mrs. Collins. I just met him. I don’t know if it’s possible to be taken with someone so fast without knowing them.”

“Well, sometimes you just know. Mr. Collins and I were such a match. Of course, neither one of us were highly romantic but very practical. We have some things in common, but   
it’s a comfortable match.” Mrs. Collins studied her as she fixed her dinner plate. “You know, you probably didn’t realize Scott was very much taken with you when he first met you. He was just worried since you were so young.”

Esther looked up at Mrs. Collins. “What do you mean?”

Mrs. Collins laughed. “Oh, I heard a conversation or two between his father and him just shortly after the introduction. Dr. Evers knew probably before the both of you did.”

“But Scott acted so nonchalantly.”

“Yes, like I said, he was worried since you were so young. He wanted you to be able to chase your own dreams and didn’t want you to feel like you didn’t get that chance.” Esther thought about what Mrs. Collins told her. Maybe Scott had been more attracted to her than she thought. She was young and could not really said she had any kind of experience to recognize an attraction.

She helped Mrs. Collins clean up so she could get home. “I’ll be back at eight in the morning.”

“Good, I will be looking forward to a good breakfast. I’ve been skimping lately.”

“Have a good evening Esther.”

“You too Mrs. Collins.”

Esther looked at the clock and wondered exactly how late Charles was going to be. She decided to go take a long hot shower. She got out and looked at her pjs. Her old and trusty set, flannels of course, or her new set which happened to be Star Wars themed. Maybe she should just get dressed. What would he think if she really opened the door wearing pjs? Well, she knew exactly what he would be thinking. He did send her probably the most outrageously vase of flowers she ever received. They were beautiful. 

She looked at her phone. It was all quiet. She texted him. “The flowers are beautiful.”

“What flowers?”

She sent him a picture. “No wonder you are getting lost going around the block if you can’t remember things.”

“I’m glad you like them. Sidney’s sister put them together for me.”

“I suppose I owe you an apology.”

“You think?”

“Someone sounds grumpy.”

“I’m still at work.”

“Maybe the boss can let you leave early.”

“I wish but if I want to get that date, I have to get some stuff done. I won’t be too much longer.” 

Esther felt the butterflies in her stomach. She took her camera on the back deck and took some photos to distract herself. She turned on the radio and thought about what songs she would need to brush up on. Thank goodness she was only needing to do a few. As she stood outside, a familiar face came up the stairs that led to the back deck.  
“Frank,” Esther was surprised to see him so late. He was carrying a six pack with him. Esther groaned inwardly.

He gave her a beaming smile. She had finally remembered him from that summer so long ago. So, like him, must still be out preying on the young ladies that came into town for vacation. “Esther! I thought maybe you would be at Sam’s. When you were not, I decided you must be here.”

“Well, here I am.”

“Still taking photos?”

“Some. What brings you here?” 

He continued to grin at her. “I brought you something,” he said as he held up the package before sitting it down on the table. “I thought we would catch up.”

“Did you?” she replied haughtily as if they were always chumming buddies. More like he was still trying to pick up where he thought he had left off. She had been flattered her first summer there, but Scott had in no implicit terms told her his true nature and to run the other way whenever he came around. Churchill’s goal back then was a tick mark in his black book and still was.

“Come on sit down. Tell me what you’ve been doing lately, you know since Scott.” Esther bite her tongue.

Well, she was trying to kill time. No telling how long it would be until Charles could be there. She sat there drinking her water and they spoke about the last few years. She could still tell he was still operating under his old procedures as he looked at her. He kept trying to offer her a beer. That is right, she mused, get the girl intoxicated and make your move. What a jerk.

Charles looked at the last email he sent out. The next few days were free and clear. He had managed to do it. He was quite impressed with himself. He told Tanner he would drive himself. Most likely subconsciously thinking that maybe she would ask him to stay, he mused, although did not ever stay. He heard of one too many stories of women who would then spin the consensual relationship when things did not work out.

He pulled his car in the parking lot. There were more cars and he would have to park and walk back to the condo. As he walked up the pathway, he heard the radio on outback. He followed the pathway and heard voices. Esther’s, he recognized quickly. The man’s voice matched the one he heard earlier today, Frank Churchill. Pretty bold, he thought, as he caught pieces of the conversation.

“Oh, come on Esther, just one beer for old times.”

Esther laughed. “You must have me confused with someone else. There were no old times with us.” Good, thought Charles. “Besides, I’m not drinking these days.”

“Did you have sort of near-death experience?” 

“Something like that.” Charles stopped. “Regardless, I’m still not interested.”

“Oh, got a beau?”

Esther laughed, “No, not really, but still not interested.”

“So, there must be somebody. You were always one of those girls with your nose in some sort of Jane Austen book, that’s why Scott chased after you. He knew it would be easy.” 

Esther snapped. Scott had been the best guy she even had been connected to.

“I think it’s time for you to go.” Charles had not heard that tone before. It must be serious.

Frank looked at Esther. “Don’t act like you didn’t know how much of a playboy he was. He was a fighter pilot. You know he had a girl everywhere he went. Is that why you hooked up with Babington?”

“What?”

“Babington. He was here earlier. That guy has women lined up longer than Dave does at his crab shack.” Dave was a well-known crab shack on the beach and would sell out in minutes when opened. “Besides, you really aren’t his type. He likes the models.” Charles decided it was best to intervene. He went bounding up the steps. Frank spied him first. “Speak of the devil.”

Charles found Esther had quite a bit of space from Frank as she was over by the railing and Frank was sitting at the table. He turned his attention back to Frank. “I think she asked you to leave.” Frank gave him a look before looking back over at Esther and gave her a look that said your loss as he picked up the remaining bottle and headed down the stairs. She would figure that out after Babington was done with her.

Charles looked back at Esther. Frank hit a nerve. “You okay?” Esther blinked back her emotion.

“Peachy.” She turned back to face the ocean and drink some of her water. He closed the gap between them.

“I’m sorry I’m late.”

Esther let out a little laugh as she regained her most of her composure. “I’ll let it slide. Churchill was always a jerk.”

Charles lean in a little closer. “I would be happy to apologize.” Esther caught the gleam of mischief in his eyes. “Although, I thought to find you in your pjs.”

“It’s still early.”

“I thought you went to bed early.”

“I couldn’t relax.”

“Why not?” Did she want to see him as much as he wanted to see her? He slid his arm around her waist slowly. “You miss me?” He reached down to kiss her gently. He knew she was still upset about what Frank had said about Scott. He pulled her close in a hug and rested his chin on top of her head. What was she doing to him? They stayed that way for some time.

“I’ll pick you up at nine.” He said as he got ready to leave. “Bring your camera.” He gave her a dazzling smile.

“Your awful bossy.”

“Well, I am in charge.” 

“What if I want to be in charge?”

“You will need to negotiate better.”

Esther looked up at him. “Duly noted.” His eyes were drinking her in. She knew what he wanted. Maybe Frank was right. She was just another tick in his black book. Well, she was not going to be that easy, well tonight anyway. She raised her eyebrow at him. “Any other instructions?” Good lord, he had her back against a wall again.

“Get some sleep.” He growled at her lowly and it sent shivers up her spine as he kissed her goodbye.

She leaned against the closed door for a few minutes before locking it. She looked up the stairs and let out a sigh. She was not ready to tackle that demon.


	29. The Date

She fell asleep quickly. She awoke to the lingering smell of bacon coming from the kitchen. She went out to the room to find Mrs. Collins humming as she cooked breakfast.

“You are too good Mrs. Collins.”

“Would you want eggs or pancakes with your bacon?”

“A couple scrambled eggs if you please.” Esther poured herself a glass of milk.

“What’s on your schedule for today?”

Esther let out a little laugh. “You know, I have no idea. I was told to bring my camera.” She decided she better text Charles so she would know what to wear. A reply text and she looked at Mrs. Collins. “Airlie Gardens?”

“Oh, those are beautiful. Best wear comfortable shoes and it will be a little warm today. Best wear sunscreen as well.” Esther smiled at the motherly advice. Esther ate and changed. She looked at herself in the mirror. She went out to find Charles had shown up early.

Mrs. Collins smiled at Esther as she walked out the door with Charles. “Ready?” Esther let out a silent breath.

“Ready as I can get.” He opened the door for her. “Who says chivalry is dead?” He smiled at her.

Charles drove in silence. He knew she was nervous as she played with the strap attached to the camera. The garden was not far from the condo. “I haven’t been here for a while, although it’s one of my mother’s favorite places.” He looked at her as he took her hand. “Come on.”

“Mr. Babington,” a greeter recognized him as he approached. 

“Hello, Heather.” He kept on walking. “My family are donors and come to their events regularly. Well, most of us anyway. I know enough unless you would like to take one of their tours.”

“You mean give up on a private tour?” Esther looked at him with amusement. “I think to keep you to myself, well for now anyway.”

Charles smiled at her and spoke lowly as they started. “I was hoping you would say that.” He spoke to her about past visits and let her take her time getting photos. He watched her carefully. Her nervousness had resolved itself and confidence had replaced it the long he watched her.

From there, he took her to the Cotton Exchange. Esther took some more pictures. Charles looked at his watch. “I suppose I’m should feed you or you will turn in a bear?”

“How did you know”

“Observation, Miss Denham.”

“Hun.” She replied. 

“Something local I take it?”

“Well, yes especially since they are recovering from the storm. Maybe somewhere back along the boardwalk?” He tried to give her a mock salute. “Oh, you are going to need to work on that. That was horrible. The TI’s would eat you alive.”

“TI’s?”

“Sorry, training instructors. Most of everything is acronym related in the military. After a while, you can pretty much guess what some of it stands for.”

“I’ll work on it.” Why she thought. It was highly unlikely this was really going anywhere. As they walked around the park, she had caught some of the looks that had they had gathered. “Do you miss it?” He asked as they drove back towards the boardwalk.

“At times.”

“So, you think you might go back after Uncle Jack passes?” Real random question she thought.

“Is he dying? I mean eventually yes, but good lord. That man is obstinate enough to live for another thirty years. It will be too late then. If I want to go back, I only so long to do so. There’s a regulation for it.”

“I didn’t know.”

Esther laughed. “Yeah, they generally like us to be young and healthy, not old and decrepit.” 

“So, if the military is out and obviously so is the B-N-B, then what are you going to do?”

“Gee, you are sounding a lot like Aunt Sophia.”

“Just curious.”

“Dr. Evers had offered me a position at the university.”

“Fayette, right?”

“Yes.”

“That’s not too far.” He thought out loud.

“What?”

“Sorry, I was thinking out loud.”

“Obviously.”

How was he going to get out of this hole? He looked at her and let out his breath silently. He did not want out. Esther’s phone beeped and she took her attention off him and he relaxed. He needed to talk to Sidney. Crowe too maybe although he was sure what he would say.

“It seems Tim has decided to take some vacation time.”

“So, he’s coming out?”

Esther laughed. “I believe he is taking a tour to Roanoke.”

“Should I be worried?”

“No, but your sister should be.” He was bound to lay the charm on thick.

“She’s pretty busy.”

It probably will not take much time, she mused to herself. “Oh, I’m sure he’ll keep himself busy during the day.” 

Charles pulled in the parking lot. Saved by luck, Esther obviously forgot what they were talking about. “I hear you were helping with some fundraiser?” He asked as he opened her door to let her out.

Esther laughed. “Sam Sidaway is putting on some karaoke benefit on Saturday for the boardwalk.”

“Isn’t that why Churchill brought you a guitar?”

“Yes, I know Sam from my summers at the condo. Apparently, Churchill has an opening act that he needed some help with.”

Great, Charles thought, Churchill would be trying again. “You aren’t worried about him?”

Esther laughed. “Worried about what?”

“I don’t know, he seemed to be a little aggressive last night.”

“You mean like someone else I know?” He caught the look in her eyes.

“I’m sorry.”

“You keep saying that.” Esther leaned back against the car door. “Are you?”

“Esther,” he whispered as he stood close to her. He was surprised when she pulled him close and kissed him quickly. It was a small step of acquiescence but one he took of great hope. He quickly had walk to catch up to her.

“So, you been playing guitar for long?” He was trying to think of a topic of conversation.

“There wasn’t much to do in the dorms. Well, other than the epic dorm parties each weekend, especially on pay days. Work hard, party harder I do believe was the motto. Uncle Jack taught me when I was little.”

“You musically inclined?”

Charles laughed. “Well, my mother insisted that I learn something. I am afraid she tried just about everything. If it comes down to anything, I can play a little piano, but I won’t be selling out any music venues.”

They ended up on the upper deck of a local restaurant that overlooked the boats that were coming in. “Ever been sailing?” 

“Jet skis probably the farthest I’ve been out.

Charles looked at her as the waitress placed their food in front of them. “Would you want to go?”

Esther raised her eyebrow at him. “Gee, you haven’t finished one date and you are already trying for another?”

“I’m being optimistic.”

“Very optimistic I would say.”

“Are you having a bad time so far?”

“I will reserve judgement until after it’s over.” Esther mused looking at him. He had no idea. “Or are you trying to pack everything in one day?”

Charles laughed. “I believe you are here until at least Saturday, if you keep your appointment.”

“Yes, and I like Sam, so it would be safe to say I will be here until then.” Although, she mused to herself, I need to practice staying up late for Saturday.

They spoke of their times at the beach and passed the afternoon easily. It was getting to be the hottest part of the afternoon when his phone vibrated.

Esther looked at him. “Work?”

He smiled, “Worse, my mother. Apparently, my parents are back from their vacation and are heading out to the house out here. My presence has been requested.”

“Lucky you.” 

He looked at her. His mother would be inquisitive of the nature of their relationship. Relationship, he mused to himself. What has he gotten himself into? “You know it would only   
be fair since I met some of your family.”

Esther shook her head, “Oh, no you don’t.”

“What?”

“First off, Aunt Sophia was business related. Second, Uncle Jack was on the way to get your rental car.”

It caught him off guard. “You don’t want to meet my parents?” Did she not know there were women out there that would give their limbs for such a chance? Maybe, he was being too aggressive, and she had just been going along with him.

Esther looked at him. She confounded him. First, she did not take money for the rental, turned down the money from the acquisition and now she was not wanting to meet his parents. “You sound surprised.”

“Well, honesty, I am.” Thought I was one of those women, did he? “Why not?”

“Simple really. They would end up loving me more and you would be disowned.” She mused at him. “I’m not sure you could handle it.”

“Very funny.” They found themselves at an impasse. Charles realized she was not going to change her mind. “Well then, do I get to continue my date later?

“I don’t know. What do you have planned for later?”

“I thought maybe a late dinner.”

“I’d be happy to.” Esther almost laughed as his expression. He had not expected her to readily agree. “Do I get to know where we are going?”

“It’s a surprise.” He was giving her that look again. Esther had to turn her gaze away lest she melt in her chair. He walked her to the door of the condo. “Later then.” He was about to kiss her when the door suddenly opened to a surprised Mrs. Collins.

Esther just laughed at his facial expression. “See you later,” as she walked into the condo. Charles could only mumble an apology to Mrs. Collins as she walked past him on her way to her car.

He arrived at his parent’s house a short time later. There was a flurry of activity by the staff.

“What seems to be going on?” he asked his mother as he found her in the living room.

“Oh, Charles, I am so glad you came.”

“Well, it sounded like I didn’t have a choice.” His tone took his mother by surprise.

“Are you mad at me for something?”

“I was in the middle of something important.”

“Apologies, but this really will take precedence. You see your father and I were to attend a formal function in Charlotte at an art gallery for a fund raiser for the boardwalk. Augusta has already said she had her own business meetings that would prevent her from leaving town.”

Charles let out an exhausted breath. “So, I’m supposed to go for you?”

“Well, yes. It is an especially important function, especially we are its main donors.”

“And why can’t you go?”

“Your father got sick on vacation and the doctor is confining him to the house for the next few days.”

“He must be very sick.”

“Yes, and you know how he is.” Maybe he could take Esther.

“When?”

“It’s Saturday evening.” Nope, not unless she was to back out of her own commitment. She looked at his face. “What’s the matter? Do not tell me you had plans with Crowe and Sidney that were more pressing. You can hang out with your friends some other time.”

Charles pursed his lips. “No, if you don’t mind. I had plans with,” he looked at her, “another friend.”

“Well, I’m sorry Charles but as a member of the Babington Foundation, this is more important.”

“Fine.”

“Good, now you should go see your father. He believes he is going to die, but don’t stay long.”

“Is it really that serious?” Charles faltered. “Maybe I should not leave town?”

“No, but it’s really just a precaution more than anything.”

“You know the boardwalk is having their own fund raiser here in town.” He mumbled as he climbed up the stairs.

Kathrynn Babington watched her son go up the steps. She was sure that when Miss Bingley showed up at the same event, it would be what they needed to reconnect. She went to her library to see what mail had come in while they were on vacation.

Chester Babington did look pale when Charles walked in. He was propped up in bed. He let out a horrible cough. “Oh,” he coughed, “Charles, what a time I tell you. Your mother is convinced I am going to die if I don’t stay in this bed.”

“Well, that cough does sound rough.”

Chester coughed again, “Poppycock, it’s just a cough.” Charles sat down on a chair next to the bed. “What have you been up to? I hope not all business.” The gleam in his eye meant Augusta must have been more talkative than he realized.

“I see you have spoken to my sister.”

Chester tried to laugh, but Charles could hear the rattle in his chest. 

“I went hiking with Sidney and Charlotte.” Charles could tell Augusta told him. “Fine, Augusta, Esther Denham and a trail guide named Tim.”

“Good time?”

“Well, I didn’t get eaten by a bear so I guess that’s a positive.” Chester studied his son. He did seem a little lighter in his mood.

“Anything else I should know?”

“The acquisition for Denham Holdings is complete.”

“Good, how is the old bear?”

Charles laughed at that. “Still grumpy as if she got woken up during hibernation.” Charles looked at his father. “What is the story behind that one?”

“Her late husband ran the business fairly good until he handed the reigns over to his nephew. The son ran up some gambling debts. Sophia had contacted me as her late husband had managed to keep the acquisition from happening about ten years prior. She did not want to do it, but she was trying to work it for some other relative as I can recall. The notes should be in the file.”

“Augusta had the file. I didn’t see it until last week and then I just came in the end of it.”

“Well, it’s all resolved to a happy conclusion.” Charles thought not really but he did not want to bother his father with the details.

“What do you know about that guy Tim?” Charles had half expected to be asked about Esther.

“Seems like a decent guy, works in financial counseling in Pigeon Forge.” Chester looked at his son and realized he should not press for any other information. Maybe his date was not going as planned.

“Well, enough with me. I suppose your mother told you about Saturday.”

“Yes, I am to go to Charlotte for fund raiser for the boardwalk for the foundation.”

“Good, I leave it to your capable hands. Your mother is upset though. She had hoped to acquire some new art or something for her library.”

“You know there is a fund raiser going on here in town.”

“Really?”

“I don’t have all the details.”

“Well, I will stick your mother on it. Every little bit helps.” 

Charles went back downstairs. “Is there anything else or can I get back to my evening?”

“No, other than take a good look at the art for me. I would really like to get something new for my library.” Kathrynn studied her son.

“Maybe it would help if I knew what you were looking for?”

“Oh, I’m sure you are capable enough to pick out something I like.” He let out a sigh.

“You seem out of sorts. What is the matter with you?”

“Nothing.” He gave her a kiss on his cheek. He decided to go home and take a shower. He texted Esther to let her know when he would be back. In the meantime, he text Sidney and Crowe.

Esther looked through her photos from the day. Airlie Gardens gave her some great shots. She decided to go ahead and send them to a printer in town that could print them quickly and get framed. She scrolled through the options and there was one that caught her eye. Custom glass frame where they could cut around the picture bringing it out to life. She knew exactly which photo she would select for that.

She went to her room. Mrs. Collins was a saint. Her room was all tidy up and her clothes freshly pressed. She was not sure where he was taking her, so she had to request a little information to pick the right outfit. She mused as she hit send.

While she waited, she went to take her shower. She looked at her undergarments and let out a chuckle. Apparently, she had subconsciously prepared for some late nights. A returned text and she knew what she had to wear. Well, Mr. Babington, I hope you are prepared.

She took a deep breath as she looked in the mirror. She had a good time today, so far anyway. She had no complaints. The house phone rang, and she went to answer it.

“Sergeant Esther Denham?”

“Yes.” A lady’s voice was on the other end before it let out in a squealed.

“This is Susan, you know Suzie.”

“Suzie!”

“Yes, from the dorms. Don’t tell me you forgot your favorite friend.”

Esther laughed. “You are unforgettable. However, did you find me?”

“I ran into Major Rally at a convention for recruiters and he mentioned he found you. He said you sent him an email about going to the beach, and I took a gamble and found an old phone number.”

“Well, it worked. Where are you?”

“Funny story, I have a relative that wants me down at the boardwalk to help with the fund raiser.”

“Oh, you too hun? Sam has me singing on Saturday night and I volunteered to take some photos that maybe could help bring in donations.”

“Well, I am glad we will get to catch up.”

“I think I can do better than that. Why not help me out singing? I’m a little rusty.” Esther waited. “I believe Sam might pitch in free drinks, if that will help persuade you.”

“Absolutely, although I don’t think I should order any hurricanes. Might upset the locals.” Esther laughed.

“Let me send you my cell number. Text me when you get to town.”

“Got it. See you soon!” The bubbly voice rang out as she hung up the phone. Apparently, Major Rally was not too upset with her and the email. 

She thought about sending him a text but perhaps that would be sending mixed signals. Before she could decide, a knock on the door distracted her.

She opened the door and found Charles unable to speak. “Something wrong?”

“No, I um,” Charles flustered at her outfit. She was stunning. “Sorry?” Esther laughed.

“Again?” He was a little scared to go in, thinking he would be unable to not to do the things that went through his mind now.

“Are you ready?”

“Sure, just let me go get something.” She grabbed a light dress shawl in case she got cold and a small clutch to put her phone in. He kept glancing at her in the car. Her dress was sitting just above her knees and her shoes put her closer to his height, she mused. “Everything go alright at your parents?” She was trying to figure out something to talk about.

“My father has some cough and the doctor recommends him staying home for a few days.”

“Doesn’t sound too good.”

“Well, the cough does sound horrible, but my father tends to overrate his medical conditions.”

“I thought that was men in general.” Charles laughed.

“That is stereotyping.” Esther chuckled. He pulled into the parking lot of a genuinely nice restaurant. It had valet parking. Charles pulled up and got to get out. The valet opened her door to help her out. “Gee, I’m getting spoiled. However, am I going to pump my own gas at this rate?”

Charles looked at her. “Oh, I am sure you will manage. You seem self-sufficient.”

“Four years in the military tends to do that.”

The hostess, Dianna, looked up from the hostess stand. “Mr. Babington, it is good to see you.” Esther realized she was being appraised. She was glad she took extra time with her hair. Dianna escorted them to a private table that sat outlooking the water.

“Do you like it?” He was slightly nervous bringing her here. It was a little upscale and she probably not ever been somewhere like it.

Esther looked at him. “It is very beautiful.” She chuckled. “Although, I doubt I will be able to order chicken nuggets here.”

He laughed. “No, I’m afraid you cannot.” A waiter came over bringing wine. Charles glanced at him. He was a regular there and the staff would automatically assume his normal request as he went to pour Esther a glass.

He looked at Esther. “None for me thank you.” She was quick. 

The waiter poured his glass. “Something else for you miss?”

“Sparkling water is fine.” The waiter walked off.

“You don’t mind, do you?”

“Not at all.” He did look a little guilty, so she decided to have some fun with it. “Besides, if I get you drunk enough, I will get to drive your car.”

“Oh, so now you want to drive my car.”

She smiled at him and thought, maybe I rather get you drunk Mr. Babington and take you back to my place. Churchill was a bad influence.

The evening passed smoothly. Charles found himself so relaxed with her. She was rather open and opiniated compared all his other dates. There was no pretence with her. He talked about his time at Harvard and having to take over the family business. He could not remember a time where he laughed so much except maybe with Crowe and Sidney.

Esther had a conversation with herself before dinner. Dr. Middleton told her that she would have to be open with him for her to have a fresh start. She made sure she did not really talk about things that she knew would be trigger points for her. After the first night in the condo, she knew being in there, she still had some unfinished business with Scott.

The conversation then turned towards the fund raiser for the board walk. He was surprised that she already had photos selected for the art galleria on the boardwalk to post for Saturday. When did she have time for that?

Charles decided it was best to let her know about Saturday. “Speaking of fund raisers, apparently there is one in Charlotte that the family business has to attend. I had not planned on going,” Charles tried to judge her facial expression.

Esther mused at him. Apology again coming. “But since your father is sick, you need to go.”

“Are you a mind reader?” Hopefully not Charles thought, or he would have some serious explaining to do of late.

Esther laughed. “No, just my analytical skills being put to good use. I will be busy all-day Saturday anyway. I got to set up the pictures and get some practice in with the band. You will probably be glad you did miss it. I’m not sure Sam knew how long it’s been when he asked for my help.”

“Well, then Miss Denham, I guess I better make the most of tomorrow.” He smiled at her.

“I see you are still being very optimistic.” She chuckled at him. “What makes you think I want to hang out with you tomorrow?”

“Observation.” Charles teased her. He found she got a slight blush from his answer.

“Do I get to know what tomorrow’s exciting adventure is going to be?”

“Will it influence your answer?”

“You have a 50/50 chance.”

“Ever been parasailing?” He looked at her. “You aren’t afraid of heights, are you?”

Esther laughed. “I done barrel rolls in an F-16 at 35,000 feet. I’m sure I can handle being tethered at a couple hundred.”

Charles looked perplexed. “You’ve been flying in an F-16?”

“I received a special award one year in the military and that was its incentive. I have to say, best flight ever. Although,” Esther frowned a little before letting out a little laugh, “I did black out just before we reached Mach 9.”

He studied her. What an amazing person she was. “So, do you have a pilot license that I don’t know of?”

Esther smiled. “No, but I’m afraid after that I don’t think I could be happy flying anything else.”

“So, you didn’t fly it?”

Esther laughed at him, civilians. “They have F-16 trainers that allow for two people.”

“Kind of like the planes in Top Gun.”

“That is a generic comparison as my naval friends would say, but yes.”

Charles did not think about his next question before he blurted it out. “Did Scott take you?” He caught Esther’s expression falter, “sorry, I just thought.”

She let out a breath. “Officially, Captain Rally took me. Unofficially, Scott did take me.” She raised her eyebrow at him. “All of which I will adamantly deny under oath of ever saying.” Well, that killed the momentum of the night Charles thought.

Not sure how to get things back on track after bringing up Scott, the waiter provided a much-needed intervention when he asked if they needed anything else. A reply to the negative, Charles knew that dinner was over.

The ride back to the condo was silent except for the music in the background. Charles yelled at himself for not watching what he said. He was just so relaxed with her, he wanted to know more. He glanced over at her and noticed she was deep in thought. Well, maybe he could make it up. 

As they walked toward the door, Esther’s phone beeped. She had missed a call from the nursing home. Charles caught her frown as they walked in. “Bad news?”

“I don’t know.” She looked at her phone. It was nearly dead. She would have to use the house phone. “Sorry, I’ve got to make a call.” She plugged her phone in to her laptop on the table before making her call. Charles found some of the photos out on the table from Airlie Gardens. They were good. He wondered if his mother would want something like that for her library.

“Is Mary Bennett there?” she asked the lady on the other side of the phone. A few seconds later. “Mary this is Esther. What’s the matter?”

Charles tried not to listen, as he amused himself thinking of another phone conversation, so he stepped outside on the back deck. He wondered if Esther would. No, he shook his head. Sidney told him not to do anything so stupid. Crowe of course, the total opposite advice. He felt like one of those guys on a commercial with an angel on one side and the devil on the other giving the person advice. He looked back towards her. She was writing stuff down. Judging by her look, it was not good news.

She hung up the phone. She had a lot of stuff to do and not time to do it. Charles was out on the back deck looking out towards the ocean. She opened her phone and sent Major Rally an emergency text. He would be able to help her more efficiently than if she tried to do it by herself. Surprisingly, Greg texted her back quickly. She sent him some details and he said he would take care of it. Esther let out her breath. One major part off her shoulders.

Her evening was over. She would need to get stuff ready for the funeral and make flight arrangements along with everything else. This evening did not end as she had thought it would. Realistically, she thought, probably for the best. Charles was wearing her down with his glances.

She was looking at her laptop when Charles walked back in. “Everything alright?”

No! she screamed internally as she swallowed back her emotion. “Well, I hate to be a downer, but I got to take care of something.”

“Tonight?”

“Yeah, this kind of caught me off guard.”

Charles looked at her and could tell she was not wanting to discuss it just yet. “Alright,” he tried to lighten the mood. “I guess you’ll just have to show me your pjs another time.”

To his delight, she did let out a little chuckle. “Now, you really are being optimistic.” 

He closed the distance between them. Esther could feel the charge in the air. “Will I still get to see you tomorrow?” It must be something bad for her to take care of things tonight.

“Most likely, although maybe not at the break of dawn.”

He laughed at her. A guy could only hope he thought as he looked at her. “Text me when you are up and running then.”

She gave him a more appropriate mock salute, “yes sir!” 

He gave her a quick kiss. “You sure you don’t need my help?” he asked quietly.

“No, I’ll have to take care of it.” A gentle kiss and he left her. After she knew he was gone, she locked the door. She went to find the tissues. She was going to be up all-night crying.

Several hours later, she was done planning and had contacted everyone she needed to. She put on her new pjs and climbed in bed. At this point, she was out of tears.


	30. A Date with Friends

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note: I have not parasailed nor have played paintball, so just roll with it :)

Esther woke up late morning. She had slept well past mid-morning. Charles had to be wondering what happened to her. She got up and found Mrs. Collins cleaning.

She saw her looking around. “Something wrong Mrs. Collins?”

The older lady smiled at her. “I was um,” she hesitated, “I just thought since it was so late that maybe you still had company.” Esther looked at her and then laughed out loud.

“No, Mrs. Collins.” 

“I mean, he’s a good-looking chap. I do not know if my younger self would be able to turn him down. You must have quite the determination.”

Esther blushed as she laughed. “Oh, I don’t think it’s my determination at this point. I had some bad news last night about Uncle Jack.” Esther put some bread in the toaster and got herself a glass of milk.

“Oh no. Are you going to need to be leaving so soon?”

“Well, I should be here through Saturday anyway. Rally is making some arrangements for me.”

“Captain Rally was always a good sort.”

“Major now. Did you meet him?”

“Yes when he came looking for you. I take it he found you.”

“He did. Although, I am surprised.”

“About what?” Mrs. Collins sat down with her as she played with her toast.

“Well, he had pretty much asked me out before I came here. I had to make a choice between the past or present.”

“Oh, so you chose the present I take it.”

“The doctor thought it would be a fresh start.”

“Is it?”

Esther looked around and wiped the tears from her eyes. “I’m not sure it really is. There are too many memories here in the house.” Mrs. Collins stood up and patted her on the shoulder.

“Just because you are choosing to start fresh, doesn’t mean you have to forget the past. Do your friends complain when you reminisce about Scott? If this guy does not want you to, then he’s no friend and obviously not worthy of you.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Collins.” Esther could only reply softly. Charles had asked her a little bit about Scott, but he probably thought she still had unfinished business. Well, there was no thinking. There was still unfinished business. She had not gone to the funeral. She could not have. She was sitting in the medical ward under observation at the time.

After Rally had left her dorm room, she could not think. She did not leave her room for days. She did not eat for days. All she did was lay in her bed and cry. Well, she did tell her boss she was taking time off. By the time the dorm manager had made a welfare check, she had drunk so much liquor, thanks to the epic dorm party neighbors, that her intoxication level was through the roof. She spent an extra several months having to go through a detox program before they would allow her to separate from the service.

Then, she got home and started right back up especially when Edward was throwing his parties. Finally, one day, she refilled a prescription and tried to cut back on drinking. One painful night of looking through her box of mementos on an anniversary of sorts, she had drunk more than she had been. Remembering she had not taken her medicine, for some reason she thought it was important that she do so in the middle of the night, not thinking about the combination.

Esther let out a breath. Mrs. Collins was correct in some respects. She could not pretend the past happened. Her friends were okay with her talking about Scott. If Charles really, really wanted more than just a tick mark on his book, then he would be too.

She looked at her phone. She sent him a text to let him know she had finally risen from the dead. Esther went and got ready for parasailing. While she waited for her ride, checked on flight details for Arlington and printed off her boarding pass sitting it next to some photos.

Charles had slept a little. He knew that he should not have taken to heart her not letting him know what was going on, but it did bother him some. The next minute of course he would chastise himself as they had not really known each other that long. He got ready and made some phone calls. Before he could leave, a knock on his door revealed his mother.

“Sorry, darling, I know I should have called but I was in the area and thought we could get lunch, especially when the office said you were at home.”

“Actually, I’m getting ready to leave.”

“Leave?” Was he going to Charlotte early? Did he talk to Caroline already?

Charles laughed at her look. “I have a date mother.”

He was chipper. “With Caroline?”

His face dropped. “What? No, why would I put myself through that?”

“I just thought,” Kat started speaking.

“I met someone when I went hiking with Augusta on the trail.”

“You went hiking?” This sparked her interest. “When was that?”

Did his father not tell her? “Last week.”

“I had no idea.” Kat studied him. “You look like you might be going out on the water.”

Charles let out a breath. “We are.” Charles almost laughed at the look on her face.

“Do I get to meet this mystery person?”

He smiled at her. “She’s afraid you’ll like her better and disown me.” Kat laughed.

“Possibly.” She studied him. He had a giddy look about him. “She lives in town?”

Here comes the questions he thought. “No, but she’s staying down by the boardwalk.”

“Well, maybe if she’s here long enough,” Charles caught that quip, “maybe when your father can rally himself out of bed, we can meet up for dinner.”

Kat studied him. She would know if this new girl was amounting to anything after he was bound to meet with Caroline on Saturday. Caroline was probably the longest girl Charles had ever been inclined to date.

“We will see. Now, I hate to ruin your day, but I’ve got to get going or I’ll be late.”

“Of course, darling.” He walked her out to her car as he got in the back seat. He was going to have Tanner handle the driving today. She was bound to find out sooner or later he had his own driver.

Esther looked at herself and chuckled. She opted for a braid. She really did not want her hair blowing all over the place. Charles found the door open and Esther speaking with   
Mrs. Collins. Mrs. Collins blushed as he approached. He mused, still embarrassed about last night.

“Ready?”

Esther looked at Mrs. Collins. “If I am not here tomorrow, it’s because he’s fed me to the sharks or kicked me off the boat. Please send help.” Mrs. Collins laughed as she watched them leave.

Tanner opened her door as she looked at Charles. “I don’t always drive. This is Tanner.”

She let out a sigh. “Why am I not surprised?” She said as she looked at Charles before looking at Tanner. “Hello Tanner.”

“Hello Miss Denham.” She gave Charles a look in the car.

“You aren’t afraid of getting left in the water, are you?”

“I can swim although depending on how far you take me out, it might take a bit for me to swim back.” He laughed.

“You’ll be able to see the shoreline.”

“Good, then all I need to worry about are the sharks I see from eight hundred feet in the air.”

“I thought you weren’t scared.”

“Not scared of heights. Falling into shark infested waters might make me slightly nervous.”

“Can’t be any worse than finding a bear in your tent.”

“I can’t say I’ve been in that situation.”

“I’ve not been in a situation of falling into sharks.” She seemed in better spirits than when he had left last night. Maybe the situation was resolved, and everything was not a bad as she thought.

Tanner pulled into the docks and let them out of the car. “Alright Tanner, I will see you later.”

“Yes sir. Miss Denham.” 

Esther looked at him. “Come on,” he chuckled as he took her hand and led her to the boat. He led her out to the family boat. 

A crew member stood by the boat ramp. “Mr. Babington, Miss Denham welcome aboard.” Esther looked around. It was one of their smaller boats, he mused as he watched her look around.

“I get the feeling I am out of place.”

He smiled at her. “Not at all. My grandfather liked boats. He spent quite a bit of money on them.” He walked her around and got her familiar with the layout, not that it was that big. “You got sunscreen?” He secretly wished she would say no so he could the one in the boat which would have to be hand applied.

“Absolutely. I have no desire to become a lobster.”

After some time getting things set up with the harness, she was ready to have her first flight. The parasail was large enough they could both go up at the same time. He looked at her, “ready?”

She let out a breath. “You only die once.” Although having two near death experiences, she was not sure she was trying to push her luck to see if that was a true statement. The cable let out and off they went.

She laughed as they got pulled upward. He was glad she was enjoying herself. The one time he took Caroline and it was more miserable for him than her the way she carried on. 

He pointed out dolphins in the water. “You sure they aren’t sharks?” she teased him. Time went by quickly as they got reeled back to the boat. The crew helped them get unharnessed. Esther was ever polite to the crew. Charles caught a glance from an older crew member. She was not like any woman he had brought on board. Most of the others would not bother to speak to the crew and Caroline would just stick her nose further up in the air as they were beneath her notice.

“Captain Denny would like a word.” The crew member spoke to Charles as he finally got unharnessed.

“I’ll be right back.” Charles left her with them. 

The older crew member, Lucas, took it upon himself to speak to her. “Are you enjoying your trip Miss Denham?”

Esther looked at him and laughed. “Esther please and yes. I have not ever been.” She looked at him and lowered her voice, “although I am very relieved, I didn’t see any sharks while I was up there.”

Lucas laughed out loud at her. “So, am I. Although,” he looked around for Charles and lowered his voice, “I’m pretty sure I would have been happy for some of Charles’ other dates to have gotten eaten.”

She was laughing when Charles reappeared. “Did I miss something?”

“We were talking about fish food.” She gave the man a wink and he knew she would not tell him anything.

“Lucas?” Charles looked at him. “Are we feeding fish?”

“Well, I do believe there is some on board if you wish to feed the dolphins. Esther said you spotted some.”

Charles looked at Esther. “Well, why not?” Lucas left to instruct the captain. “I do believe you have confounded the crew.”

“How’s that?”

“Well, for starters, you are being nice to them.”

“Oh, I have ulterior motives on that.”

“You do?”

“Well, yes. I do not want to be left out to sea. I’m hoping they will toss you over first if you try to leave me behind.” 

He laughed at her. She was in a better mood than last night after the phone call. “I’m not sure I’ve feed the dolphins since Sidney had brought Charlotte out for a day.” He led her to a covered seating area.

“What’s that look for?”

“Sorry, I was trying to remember that trip.”

“You know they have memory pills.”

He gave her a half smile. “Very funny.” That trip had been enough for him to begin to realize Caroline was not worth the time. She had berated not only the staff, but poor Charlotte at times as well. Charlotte had told Sidney that under no circumstances would she ever be in a confine space with Caroline again. The domino affect happened after that since that meant Sidney would not go on any outings without Charlotte and with Caroline. After having to have a few alone dates with Caroline, he knew it was more about the notoriety and money than actual interest in himself. He wondered if he spoke about Caroline if she would talk about Scott.

Lucas brought them some water. “I had been dating Caroline Bingley.” There he said it.

“Mr. Bingley’s sister?”

Charles looked at her. “You know Charles Bingley?”

“I may have met him once or twice while I was over with Aunt Sophia. She mentioned he had bought a small cabin near one of hers, well, I guess yours now. I hear Charles’ wife isn’t too fond of his sister and refuses to let her stay in the same cabin as them.”

Charles could only laugh. He was beginning to suspect that Aunt Sophia had been playing match maker with him rather than Esther. 

“Did I say something funny?”

“I was thinking about Aunt Sophia.”

“You are laughing at my aunt?”

“Just her tactics. I guess I didn’t realize she tried to get involved in everyone’s personal life.”

“I told you. She likes to believe she excels at it.”

He calmed his laugh down. “Yes, well, anyway Sidney and I had brought Caroline and Charlotte out for the day. You have met Charlotte and know how nice she is. Now, imagine someone the complete polar opposite and you will know all you need to about Caroline. Charlotte pretty much told me I was never to invite her or Sidney if she was going to be around.”

“I don’t believe Charlotte would dislike someone so much.” The boat slowed and Lucas brought some fish for the dolphins.

“Well, she does have a limit.” He watched as she was not squeamish with the fish. “I have to say I was pretty unobservant at the time.” They threw out some fish. “Although, it didn’t take long. She was probably the longest girlfriend I can remember having.” He felt somewhat relaxed about admitting things and nervous for being so open.

This was a fine kettle of fish, Esther mused as she watched the dolphins. She knew what he was doing. She realized she been talking too much to Dr. Middleton, she was starting to pick up on his practices of luring out information.

Esther took a deep breath and let it as she looked out over the water. “And just what is it you what is it you want to know?” Simple and direct, she mused, just like the good old days in the military.

He hesitated as he looked at her. She was opened to questions but was not necessarily volunteering the information either. What did he want to know?

“Esther.” The tone was polite but abrupt. “You don’t have to talk about Scott if you don’t want to.” He did not want to push the subject, but he did. He wanted her to talk open and honest without having to ask pointed questions. Voluntarily, that what he wanted. He wanted any information she was willing to part. “I just thought maybe you would want to.”

Just what Mrs. Collins had said just a few hours ago. Exactly what Dr. Middleton would tell her to do, talk. She let out another breath. “I can’t say I really dated Scott long. There is a regulation for it. He was a cadet when I met him, then he graduated to be an officer. It was mostly just a long-distance thing until he nearly completed flight training. I would either had to get out or convert to an officer or he risked getting discharged himself. It was his dream job. I had gotten a supervisor that I hated and chose to get out.”

And then it all fell to pieces, she shook her head in the memory. Charles could feel the emotion even if she really did not express it. “Rally and Scott got deployed to Afghanistan. Scott got shot down and Rally lived to talk about it.” She swallowed and took a breath. “I didn’t exactly take the news quite well. I had been hanging out at the dorm parties and had made one too many friends. I woke up after I over intoxicated. Spent a few months in rehab, got out, fell back into drinking and met Peter. Mixed some medication unintentionally with drinking, ended back in rehab. Now, I’m on a boat in the middle of nowhere talking with you about my wonderful experience with relationships.”

“I’m”

“Do not say sorry. Good lord, I don’t think I ever met someone more infuriating with apologizing.” She had managed to keep her emotion mostly in check without falling apart. Progress is what Dr. Middleton would say.

Charles could tell while she was not too happy with saying all of that, she was not mad at him asking either. “I thought you liked my apologies.” The look again. Was it always going to be this intense with him? He was kissing her when a voice called out.

“Mr. Babington,” Lucas called out to him before realizing the situation on the deck. “Apologies sir, Captain Denny would like a word.”

He kissed her forehead and she heard a grumbling remark as he went to the top deck.

Lucas was looking at her. “Sorry Esther.”

Esther looked at him and laughed. “It’s alright Lucas. It’s pretty much the norm for us.”

“I can take the bucket. If you want, I can walk you to the kitchen so you can wash your hands.”

“That would be delightful.” Lucas introduced her to the kitchen staff, and they helped her remove the strong smell of fish that was lingering on her fingers.

“Would you like something to drink Esther?” Lucas asked her. “We have some soda in the fridge.”

At first, she thought he meant like a beer. “What kind?”

An older lady answered, “orange cream and root beer.”

“Really?”

“Are they not to your liking?” the lady asked as she had received explicit instructions last night about what to have on board.

Esther laughed. “I’m amused that is all. I’ll take an orange cream.” The kitchen opened to a combination room of dining room and living room. She could not complain about the view.

The living room contained a bookcase, which is where Charles found her looking at book titles when he found her. “I thought maybe you jumped ship.”

“Ha, not that great of a swimmer. Besides, I am not sure I know which way to land. I thought you said I should be able to see the coastline.”

“Captain Denny was chasing your dolphins.”

“Oh, my dolphins?” He had gotten a little shy now that they were back pretty much alone.

“Not to worry, Captain says we need to head back. There’s a storm coming.” She looked at him. Yeah there was. The question was she going to take shelter or stand in it. “What?” He could not read the expression.

“Just thinking.” She gave him a polite smile and returned to look at the books. “Whose books are these?”

“Mostly my parents. They are avid book readers.”

“Unlike you?” She walked over to a large armchair. Best to stay off the couch at the moment.

He laughed. “I told you I’ve been busy. I’m not sure I could find the time to read anything substantial.” He looked at her and took a breath. “Augusta says she’s glad she read that book you gave her but she’s not sure she would want to go on any extensive hiking trips.”

Esther laughed. “Better not tell Tim. He makes an annual trip to Rainbow Falls in the summer right about now. He likes to stick around that area for a few days at a time.”

“Is he still going to visit her this weekend?”

“As far as I know. He doesn’t generally talk to me daily.”

“Why not?”

Esther looked at him in the other chair. “I don’t know. I guess we’ve always been that way.”

“Why do you always talk to Sidney and Crowe?”

“I guess there’s usually some sort of daily banter between us.”

“Well, I had to go without a phone for six weeks in basic training, so you just get used to not talking on it.”

“Is that why you aren’t on social media?”

“I’ve got a profile; I just don’t get consumed with it. Tim likes to take it upon himself if you don’t remember to handle my technology.”

“Did he really build you a profile on E-harmony?”

“I don’t know, but most likely. He likes to irritate me although now that is, he is bothering Augusta, it is likely to get deleted. He won’t have the time to devote to anything else.”

“Why do you still hang around him if he irritates you?”

“You don’t have a friend that irritates you?”

“Well, it’s usually Crowe but we generally get along.”

“I get along with Tim. Some days he’s just more annoying than others.” Like when he is not dating anyone, she wanted to add. 

Lucas came in. Captain Denny wanted to let you know we should be docking shortly.

“Thank you, Lucas.” Esther replied before Charles could and Charles could only laugh at the funny expression on Lucas’ face.

They walked the boat ramp to Tanner with the car. “How did he know we were back?”

“I can’t reveal my secrets.” Esther mused. She knew he still had secrets. He had not said a whole lot about Caroline compared to what she said about Scott. The storm was off in the distance. “Well, my afternoon plans just got rained out.”

“What ever shall we do?” she teased him although she was sure he had a few ideas.

“Would you want to meet up with Sidney and Charlotte?” Maybe Crowe if he was around. Esther’s phone beeped.

Esther looked at the message from Suzie. She came into town early.

Charles looked at her and wondered who it was. “Bad news?”

Esther laughed, “Well, only when we get together. It’s a friend from the service, who is in town for the fund raiser as well.”

Maybe she would rather meet up with her friend, he thought, although he was not ready to part with her just yet. 

Esther looked at him and saw him in thought. “What about Crowe?”

“Crowe?”

“Yeah, I mean if my friend was to come it would be an uneven number.”

He gave her a laughing smile. “You aren’t trying to play match maker like Aunt Sophia?”

“Absolutely not. I don’t even know Crowe to wish that on him.”

“Alright, I’ll drop you off and make the calls. Six?” That would be three hours. Plenty of time.

“Where are we going?”

“I’ll let Crowe make that call. You are both up to a little sporting?”

Esther laughed. It was a little contagious. “Sure, but don’t start crying when you lose.” Esther texted Suzie to tell her she would pick her up at six. “How sporting?”

Charles thought about it. “Paintball and dinner?”

‘Your funeral’ she mused. “Just let me know where to have the hearse pick you up at.” He smiled at her and gave her a light kiss at the door.

“You sound awful confident.”

“Yeah well, I’m just trying to stay optimistic.”

She laughed as Tanner drove the car away. She quickly called Suzie to do some warfare prepping. She would with Charlotte, but she was not sure if Sidney were one of those guys who looked at her messages. Esther decided to pick up Suzie as it would be easier once the address was given.

“So, who is this guy we are meeting?” Suzie asked bubbly as she got into Goliath.

“Well, there’s Charles.”

“I hear that tone.”

“What tone?”

“So, you are with Charles. Please don’t tell me this is some sort of blind date.”

Esther laughed. “No, just trying to even out the playing field. His friend Crowe, Sidney and Sidney’s girlfriend Charlotte.

“And this isn’t some sort of blind date?”

Esther laughed. “I’ve not ever met him. You know I wouldn’t set you up with anyone I didn’t know.” Esther looked at her good friend. “Besides, you aren’t dressed nice enough for it to be a real date.”

“Thanks a lot.” Suzie laughed with Esther.

Crowe looked at Babington. “You know I don’t need you help getting dates.”

“This is not a date. Her friend was in town and I wanted to make sure she had an opportunity to spend with her.”

“So, it can be a guy?” Well, no he thought he had just assumed. Charles caught Goliath pulling into the parking lot.

“There she is.”

“She drives an old truck?”

“It’s reliable. It’s been restored, except for the body work.”

“I think I shall go outside and meet her.”

“Crowe,”

“Stay here Babington. Let me do my thing.”

Esther noticed a man looking intently at her truck walking towards her. She looked over to Suzie. “Looks like Goliath has caught some attention.” Suzie jumped out first.

“What a nice ride. What year?” Suzie was not sure if he was being sarcastic.

“It’s a 52 right Esther?”

The man quickly took his gaze from Suzie to Esther. No wonder Charles was enamored with the red hair.

Yes, although,” she looked at him, “I would wager you already knew that.”

Crowe laughed. “Guilty.” He gave them a flattering smile. “I don’t suppose I can take a gander at the engine?”

Esther rolled her eyes as she walked away and popped the hood. It was immaculate. He looked at the interior. Charles was right. A little body work and it would be ideal.

“You do all this?” he asked her.

“Some of it. I had friends do the engine and tranny.” Easy to speak to, not to haughty.

“So, you did the interior?”

“Yes, and the wiring.” A woman who was not afraid to get her hands dirty. Interesting indeed.

“Crowe!” Sidney called out as Charlotte and him were walking towards them.

Well, so much for being obtuse. Charlotte gave Esther a hug. Charles decided to join them. Suzie looked at Crowe and now his friends. As soon as she saw Charles, she could see why Esther would have picked up on him.

“Susan Worchester, or Suzie, this is Charles Babington, Sidney Parker, Charlotte Heywood and Crowe.”

“Susan Worchester?” Crowe asked back politely.

“Suzie. Susan is my aunt.”

“The Susan Worchester?”

Suzie rolled her eyes. “Yes.” She had that question everywhere she went, which is why she started going by Suzie. “What kind of name is Crowe?”

A girl with spirit, Crowe mused. “Alexander Crowe. My parents did not like me.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Have you heard of Alexander the great?” Sidney quipped. “That would not be him.”

“Very funny Sidney.” They went inside. “So, how are we going to handle this? Guys verses girls?”

Suzie smiled at Crowe. “I might need some help. Will they show us how to load the weapon?” 

“They will indeed. Maybe we can give you all a handicap.”

“Very sporting of you.” Esther was struggling keeping the neutral expression, but she gave a wink to Charlotte when the guys were getting their gun.

Suzie struggled loading and accidentally hit the trigger and fired a round at the workers foot. “Oh, my apologies.” 

The guys were snickering as the ladies were being instructed. “Well, this should be a walk in the park.” Crowe commented to them.

“Just don’t forget, I think Charlotte knows a little.”

“Well, one out of three isn’t any great advantage,” Crowe commented back as they watched in slight humorous horror as the guns were being discharged before they even started.

Charles looked at Esther who was talking nicely to the worker. “I would watch Esther. She’s probably trying to talk the worker in helping out.”

“I heard that!” She looked back at the worker. And leaned towards him, “maybe a little more smoke when the guys enter?” She gave him a wink. He smiled at her.

The ladies went in first and quickly split up to take their positions. The men followed shortly after what they determined was a lot of smoke, more than usual. Charles chuckled as he realized that was what Esther had asked the worker to do so. Part obstacle course, open area and random targets, they chose to stick together until they realized they had been outflanked on each side.

Mass chaos ensured as they tried to figure out who was where. One of them was on point, and pretty much on target. As they yelled at each other, decided it must have been Charlotte up high. More smoke and positions were changed, and they found that the ladies had chosen to divide them up and conquer.

Sidney was the only one making any type of advancement for the flag, calling out to the others to pick up the pace. They could see the flag and as they thought victory was in hand, their hopes were dashed when not only did the ladies capture their flag but had completely unloaded them as they had nowhere to hide.

The bell for the timer soon followed and they found the ladies had extraordinarily little paint compared to them.

“I do believe we were misled.” Crowe complained loudly.

“Astute observation Crowe.” Esther replied as she accidentally discharged her gun at him. “Did I forget to mention Suzie is a weapons instructor?”

“Or that I trained Esther?” Suzie quipped.

“I believe Mr. Crowe the proper term is hoodwinked.” Charlotte commented as she handed the worker her gun.

“Thanks Billy.” Suzie spoke to the worker. “The other rifles are out in shed 2 and 5.”

“Wait, you gave them extra weapons?” Sidney asked him and found the young guy smiling devilishly.

“And rounds.” Billy responded to him. “I do like women with a little sporting in them.” Billy gave Suzie a wink.

“Babington, I think you owe me a drink for this torture.” Crowe mumbled as they walked outside. They all laughed. Charles rode with Crowe and they divided up to go to dinner.

“Go ahead and say it.” Charles spoke to him as they drove down the road.

“Say what?” Crowe responded.

“I know you have something to say.”

“I’m actually quite surprised.”

“Really, that is all?”

“Okay, she’s not your type.”

“Oh, so she’s more your type?”

Crowe laughed at him. “You are sunk man.”

He let out his breath. “I know it and I’m enjoying it.”

“So how long before you give it to her?”

“Such language Crowe. If I did not know any better, I say you are in a dry spell yourself.”

“Well, it’s to be expected with Sidney with Charlotte and you out roaming the woods. I have no one to do coursing with.”

“Suzie seemed to be a pretty thing.”

“I do like a girl with a little spunk mind you. But I’m not sure I would want that kind of entanglement.”

“What kind of entanglement?”

“The one that would get me shot 100 yards before I knew it was coming.” Charles laughed.

They arrived at the local brewing company and found music blaring. It was a very happening place. They were seated quickly as the hostess recognized Crowe and his friends.   
They heard some grumbles of other patrons who were skipped as they walked by.

Elliott, the bartender, looked over and recognized Suzie. He had the other bartender take over for him while he went over to say hello. “Hello Suzie, I didn’t know you were in town.”

“Hello Elliott.”

“You want a round of the usual? What about your friends?”

Suzie looked over at Esther. “She’ll take a coke, I’m sure the others would be happy with whatever you bring out.” Crowe looked over at Esther.

“Afraid you might get drunk?” he asked her, not knowing the background story.

“As if you would be so lucky Crowe.” Suzie answered for her, which gartered a round of laughs from the table. “Besides, it helps to have a DD.”

“True.” Charlotte commented.

Crowe found himself studying Suzie, trying to figure her out. “All right here we go.” He passed out the drinks. “Did you hear about the fund raiser at Sam’s?”

Suzie smiled and glanced at Esther. “I sure did. Are you going?”

“Are you going to be there?”

“Absolutely, would not miss it.”

“Then, I shall. I will keep an eye out. See you later.” Elliott walked off.

“So, which one of you belted me?” Crowe said in a grumbled voice.

“Which one of us didn’t is the better question Crowe.” Suzie was back to picking on him.

“Fine. Who was the sharpshooter in the bell tower when we first got there?”

“It wasn’t me.” Charlotte commented. “I’m not quite that good.” 

Crowe looked at Suzie. “So, you are the sharpshooter?”

Suzie smiled politely at him. “Not today.” 

Crowe looked over at Esther. “You?”

Esther held back some laughter. “Four-year marksmanship ribbon I’m afraid. Not to mention, my cousin taught me to shoot when I was seven.” Some more laughs. “Although Suzie travels for the competitions.”

“Competitions?”

“Yes, the military has marksmanship contests. I went a few years ago. It’s extremely competitive.” Suzie commented. She had been gone when Esther had found out Scott had   
died. By the time she returned, her friend was already in rehab.

“Well, then I guess I shouldn’t make any of you angry with me. Although if I need to rob a bank, you are the first person I’m looking for.” Crowe gave Suzie a smile. She rolled her eyes at him. If that were his petty attempt at flirting, he would have to do much better. “So, are you still in the military?”

Suzie let out her breath. “For now. My contract is up soon. I am almost halfway with my twenty. I either need to fully commit or get out and do something else.”

“What happens at twenty?” Charlotte asked.

“I can draw a retirement.”

“You mean when you get older.” Sidney asked.

“No, it’s immediate at twenty. Well, provided you do all the paperwork.” Esther answered.

“And just how old would that make you?” Crowe asked Suzie.

Suzie smiled at him. “Old enough to know better Crowe.” He was being berated and he was not sure he liked it. Talk around the table floated as they all became better acquainted.

“How about a rematch at billiards?” Crowe asked as he was not quite ready to end his entertaining evening. They moved from the tabletop to the billiard room. Esther knew the guys would probably win. A little while later, they were all laughing.

“I hate to break up this party, but I’ve got an early morning flight to Charlotte.” Charles told Sidney and Crowe as the ladies had taken a trip to the restroom.

“How early?” Crowe snickered at him.

“Early Crowe.” Crowe was feeling surprisingly good about now. He would not be driving home. “When will you be back?”

“Sunday.”

“Sunday!” Crowe exclaimed and Sidney gave Crowe a look.

“Why Crowe? You got somewhere to be?”

“I thought we were going to Sam’s tomorrow.” Crowe looked at him. Charles laughed.

“And why would we be going to Sam’s?” He was going to enjoy this torment.

“A certain lady hasn’t caught your attention, has she?” Sidney joined in.

“I don’t know what the devils you are talking about.” Crowe sniped back.

“Esther will be there. She’s helping out.”

“You are going to leave her here?” Sidney asked.

“She’ll be with Suzie and she used to come out for vacation, I’m sure she’s fine.” Well, if Churchill was not around. “Although, there is this guy that seems to be bothering her.”

“You mean someone other than you?” Sidney asked with humor in his eyes.

“Yes, someone other than me. Frank Churchill. You know him?”

“I do.” They turned to find Elliott looking at them. “He’s your typical beach sleaze bag.”

“What are you doing here?”

“I was going to give Suzie my number. I haven’t seen her in a few years since she left for the service.” Crowe looked him over again. Charles and Sidney both caught the glare that passed between them. “Where is she?”

“Where is who?” The ladies were back, and Suzie looked at Elliott.

“You silly. I thought to give you my number in case you want to meet up before Sam’s and catch up.”

“Sure.” Crowe could only watch as Suzie had written her number on his forearm.

“That was pretty easy.” Crowe mumbled to her as she sat down.

“What?” she replied with a glare.

“Time to go, I think. Come on Crowe. Let me get you home.” Sidney commented as he pushed him towards the door. Sidney placed him in the back seat and walked over to Charles. “What are we going to do about his car?”

“I can take it.” Suzie answered. “I’m fine.” They looked at her skeptical. 

“And you are going to be over at Sam’s tomorrow?”

“Yes, with Esther.” 

Charles looked at Sidney. “Well, I guess Charlotte and I can bring him out that way. We don’t have anything do we Charlotte?”

“Not at all.” 

Sidney handed her the keys. “He will kill you if you get a scratch on his baby.”

“I’m sure if the government can trust me with equipment worth far more, I can handle his car.” Suzie looked at them. “Besides, he’s got insurance, right?” She laughed as she climbed into a car worth almost three times her yearly salary.

“Well, Charles, Esther getting you home or you need a ride? I don’t see Tanner.” Charles tried to wink at him. 

“I’m sure Esther will be able to get me there.” They looked at Esther.

“Fine, but if you get sick in Goliath, I will leave you on the side of the road and I will send you a very expensive bill.” Sidney laughed as he walked off. “You can walk or am I supposed to carry you?”

“I’m not that drunk.”

“Well, I wouldn’t say you were sober either.” His inhibition was going to get the better of him as he wrapped his arm around her shoulder.

“Not to worry Miss Denham, I shall behave.”

Esther scuffed at his remark. Highly doubtful Charles Babington based on her experience.

He leaned up against the bed of the truck as she opened the door for him. He traced his finger along her jawline. “Unless you don’t want me to.” She could feel her heart in her ears as he leaned in to kiss her. 

She put her hand on his chest. “Slow down Romeo. I don’t even know where you live.” 

He was drinking her in before he chuckled. “Fair enough.” He gave her his license while she leaned over him to buckle him in. He was a little intoxicated. He fell asleep as she drove. She could only laugh at the situation. She pulled into the driveway, which was not too far from the condo. She looked over at him. His parents’ house. Esther breathed in. She found Tanner standing outside.

“Tanner?”

“Sidney sent me a message. I took a gamble.”

“I believe he is still sleeping.”

“I’ll take care of him Miss Denham.” She helped Tanner get through the door. An older man was walking around in a robe and pjs.

Mr. Chester Babington looked at the young lady standing in his foyer, looking like she had been in some sort of paintball war. Although Charles looked much worse for wear. Esther found the man gazing at her. “Sidney had me bring him.”

“You are?”

Esther smiled. “Uber.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes, well. I shall be off.” She turned towards Tanner. “Good night Tanner.” He smiled at her as she made a hasty retreat out the door.

“Tanner?” Chester looked at him. “Who was that?”

“Miss Esther Denham, sir.” Chester chuckled as they got Charles up the stairs.


	31. Heated Feelings

Esther got home and took a hot shower. That had been a close call between meeting his father and Charles misbehaving, it could have been a disaster. She put on her star war pjs. Charles would be gone tomorrow, and she could sit and figure things out. She coordinated her pick up at the airport and texted Tim. She would fly back through Roanoke on Sunday if he were still there. Maybe a good sounding bar would help her figure things out.

Charles stretch out forgetting where he was. As he opened his eyes, he realized he was at his parent’s house. He would no doubt hear about it in the morning. He was half asleep and remembered he was going to be leaving tomorrow and did not get to say goodbye to Esther. He chuckled at himself in the mirror in the bathroom.

Esther felt restless and she knew she should not. A beep on her phone, she assumed it was Tim.

Nope, apparently, Charles had a short nap and was wondering how he ended up in his parents’ house. She could only laugh about it. “Your uber only drops at the curbside.” Silly man, like she was going to follow Tanner upstairs in his parents’ house no less.

A noticeably short time after the text, as she sat at the table working on photos, she heard a knock at the door. It was not extremely late, although it was almost midnight. She almost ignored it but decided to go see who it was.

“You didn’t let me say goodbye.” He commented as he looked at her in her pjs.

“You were sleeping and pretty dead to the world.”

“I’m up now.”

“So, I see.”

“Why are you still up?” he asked her.

“Because I had some crazy person banging on my door in the middle of the night.” She was vaguely aware he was causing her to retreat slowly into the foyer. The tension was building, and he could tell she was slightly trembling.

“Why are you still up?” she whispered as he had inched closer to her.

Just act gentlemanly, he kept saying to himself as Tanner drove him over. ‘Just give her a kiss goodbye and tell her to text you,’ the mantra repeated in his head as he knocked on the door. Once the door was opened, he forgot everything he had told himself. As he got closer, he knew it was a losing battle. He could barely find his voice as there was nowhere for her to go, so he half whispered to her, and asked if he could stay. He was past wanting to act rationally. This is where he wanted to be. The door closed and locked, they explored each other like teenagers as she led him to her bedroom.

Charles woke up and found the bed empty and a little cool. She had escaped him sometime. He rolled over and looked at his phone. At least he was not late. He had some time. Where did she go? He got dressed and went out to the dining room. He found Mrs. Collins in the kitchen and this time they were both embarrassed. At least he was dressed, otherwise it would have been extremely awkward.

Charles found his voice first. “Where’s Esther?”

“She had to run to the gallery on the boardwalk to sign for the delivery.”

“Delivery?” Mrs. Collins handed him a cup of coffee.

“The photos for the fund raiser. She should be back anytime.” Charles looked at his phone and texted her, only to find, it was sitting next to the laptop. He wondered over there as he caught some photos laying out. He paused as he caught the flight itinerary to Arlington, for Sunday. ‘Was she leaving? Was this planned before or after last night?’ He looked at the top of the email. It was from Thursday night, late. He wondered if this had anything to do with what happened. Another text message flashed on her phone and he could not help but drag his gaze over to it. It was from Rally. It was short. Arlington, Sunday, backlot. Before he could think to ask Mrs. Collins, he heard the front door open and he quickly put it back in place. He recognized another voice behind it. It was Suzie.

Mrs. Collins was the icebreaker for the situation. “Miss Suzie. How are you?”

Suzie looked at Charles and back to Esther, “well not as well as that.” She followed Mrs. Collins back to the kitchen with a huff. Esther looked slightly embarrassed.

He grabbed her hand and walked out the front door dragging him behind her. He let out a breath as they stood on the porch. He was torn between his emotions. He never felt so connected to anyone like her and now she was not only leaving but she was meeting someone else. Irrational men do irrational things in heightened situations.

“So, you are going to meet Rally in Arlington. What are you doing?”

Esther was surprised at the tone. “What are you talking about?”

Oh no, he was not going to let this go. “I saw a plane ticket and a text message. Admit it, you are off to meet Rally. Was I taking too long?”

Esther’s normal response would be something witty, but the fact he had been invading her personal privacy without even asking or assuming what he was insinuating was enough. She had enough of that behavior with Peter. She was not going to go through it again.

She pulled her hand away. “First of all, it’s a free country and I can go where I please. Second, why would you ever think to read text messages that do not belong to you. Third, you know just because you stayed the night doesn’t give you the right to talk to me this way.” She slammed the door behind her.

Charles stood outside the door dumbfounded. The morning had gone terrible. At least he had his phone. He texted for Tanner and walked away from the condo, needing space. Tanner found him almost a half mile later walking the opposite way he needed to be walking. Charles jumped in and told him to head for his house.

He went upstairs and quickly took a shower and got dressed. It was not until he was sitting on the plane and realized it had gone all wrong and very quickly. What was he supposed to do now? He almost texted Sidney. However, he had every right to be mad. Was she just stringing him along? Or did she like to play the field. Rally would be a lot closer to home. He would have no idea if they were meeting up when he was over six hours away. He poured himself a drink, which turned into three by the time they landed.   
Thankfully, Tanner was there and could drive him as they arrived at the hotel.

Getting in his room, his mood was still dark, and he found himself with another bottle in his hand. After one more, he realized, he had not eaten and had consumed quite a bit of alcohol which accounted for his feeling in his head. He laid down on the bed and decided to rest before tonight.

Esther stormed into her room. Once there, she climbed into the hot shower to cry. She tried to reason with herself. She had every right to be angry. Angry was the only thing she could think about. It helps lessen the pain of what happened. She knew it was not going to work out. She shook her head under the water. It was just because he was the first, she let back in. The dorms were fully of one-time stands, nobody ever woke up crying about it. She was determined. She had shed enough tears. There were plenty to choose from. She was not going to get hung up on someone like that. That was all it was. A one-night stand. Now it was over, and she could really start fresh.

She emerged out of her room after some time. Suzie was sitting on the back deck waiting for her friend to emerge from whatever happened. She had lived in the dorms long enough to know there was it was not just a one-night stand. The slamming of the door was apparent. She could only assume it was one sided as Charles had not tried to come back in.

Esther stacked up the photos along with the itinerary and put them back in the place. She was still fuming and was glad for it. She needed the fuel. She turned off her phone. She would not need to look at it until tomorrow before she was to leave. Rally had all the arrangements done with the veteran’s affairs and cemetery. All she had to do was show up, cry and leave. The more she thought about it, the more it made sense. She had only been out for a few years. She could go back. Suzie was only halfway done. She could rejoin and perhaps they could travel together. They would always have each other, even when their own relationships did not work.

She told Mrs. Collins that she would not need her for the rest of the day. She walked out and found Suzie posting on social media. “Esther! I was beginning to wonder.”

“I’ve got to grab the guitar and drop it off at Sam’s. Then, head back over to the gallery to make sure the prints are up, and we can start practice.”

“Gee, will you feed me lunch in there some time? You know I get grumpy.”

Esther smiled at her friend, who asked for no explanations or give criticism. “Absolutely, my treat.”

They walked into the waterfowl gallery and found the consultant. He led them around showing them the arrangements of the photos. “These are stunning Esther. I think you are missing your calling in life.”

“You know Suzie, at this particular point,” Esther let out a breath, “You are probably right. Maybe I should cross train and go back in?”

“What?” Suzie asked her. She knew without a doubt that would probably not be the best decision for her friend. “Why would you want to deal with all that?”

Esther just shook her head and walked away. Suzie looked up and saw her aunt coming towards her. “Aunt Susan, I didn’t know you would be here.”

Susan gave her a kiss on each cheek. “We heard that the boardwalk was putting on their own fund raiser, my friend and I decided to check on it.” Suzie looked at the other lady. 

“This is Kathryn Babington, my very good friend.” Suzie shook the ladies’ hand. “My niece is in the military, currently stationed at Pope in Charlotte.”

“How do you like the military?” Kat asked her.

“It’s just like a job anywhere else, although it has plenty of better benefits.”

“What do you do?”

“I’m a weapons instructor.” Kat could not contain the look of surprise on her face. The young lady in front of her did not look the part.

“Why are you here?”

“My friend Esther has some photos for the fund raiser. She had to come fill out some paperwork. Would you like to meet her?” Both ladies nodded yes.

Esther was in discussion with the consultant. “So, you don’t want any commission off of them?”

“No, send it all to the fund raiser.”

“You do realize that can be quite a bit of money.” The man started to disagree with her.

“Only if they sell. And if they do not, feel free to donate them to the local nursing homes or veteran’s homes.”

“Miss Denham! I insist. You must really reconsider what you are doing.”

“Well, I’m in a very irrational state of mind today and I don’t feel like second guessing myself. If you would be so kind as to put your own commission in the local fund would make it even better.”

“You, you want me to donate my commission?”

“Why not? It benefits this business as part of the boardwalk.”

“I believe you are a very opinionated young lady.”

Esther smiled at him. “Well, I was just asking about the commission off my prints. You could do the same for anything else the gallery sells.” He went to continue to balk but looked from her to the two important patrons walking up behind her.

He turned his attention back to her. “I will match whatever commission you would have received.”

Esther smiled at him and shrugged her shoulders. “Good, that was better than I had anticipated. I was just going to negotiate your commission but that works out so much better.   
Don’t you feel good now?”

Esther turned to find out she had an audience. “Suzie.”

Suzie laughed at her and then the consultant’s facial expression that Esther could not see. “Esther, do you remember Aunt Susan?”

Esther held out her hand to greet her. “Absolutely, she bought us the biggest dinner that one time. How are you Susan?”

“Oh, very well thank you. This is my particularly good friend, Kathrynn Babington.”

Suzie looked at her friend falter at the name and almost let out a snort. “Mrs. Babington. Pleased to meet you.” Esther held out her hand determined not to be terrified. She spent weeks at boot camp getting yelled at inches in front of her face. Certainly, she could handle Charles’ mother, who could not possibly know what had transpired this morning.

“Kat, this is Esther Denham.”

Kat looked at the young lady. “Are you related to Sophia?”

There was no way to deny it. She would just have to ad lib that moment. “Yes, she is my aunt.”

“Splendid. Suzie tells me you have photos for the fund raiser.”

Esther took a deep breath. “Yes, I took some the other day at Airlie Gardens and around town.”

Lucky, the consultant picked up and offered to show them to her. As they walked away, Esther breathed a sigh of relief. Suzie gave her a look. ‘Later’ was the response look.  
Kat Babington walked around the gallery as the consultant discussed all sorts of things. She turned a corner and stopped. It was her most favorite tree in the garden. Plated on glass, it was stunning as the glass took the form of the branches. “Esther.” Kat called out to her.

Esther took in a deep breath and walked over. “Yes, Mrs. Babington?”

“Is this one yours?”

“It is.” Esther stared at the tree. It was the highlight of the tour, well according to one Charles Babington. She was not going to break down. She sucked in her breath. Military bearing, she repeated to herself.

“It is stunning, simply.”

“Thank you. If you will excuse me, Suzie and I have an appointment. It was nice to meet you.” Kat watched the young lady walk away and thought she detected some sort of emotional distress at the photo.

“Susan,” Kat looked at her friend, “what do you think about this?”

Susan smiled at her. “It’s one of kind Kat. You won’t be able to find another one like it.”

“I think you are right.” Kat turned to the consultant. “I want this one. Do you think you could get Miss Denham to sign it sometime?”

“Certainly, Mrs. Babington.”


	32. Before the Storm

Suzie walked arm in arm with Esther away from the gallery. “Alright, what is going on and don’t tell me nothing.”

“Can we get some ice cream?”

“Do I get my own?”

“Absolutely, I am not sharing.” She swallowed her emotion. 

“I don’t get it. Why don’t you just tell him there’s nothing going on between you and Rally?”

“That is clearly not the point, Suzie. Don’t tell me you would want someone snooping around your phone messages.”

Suzie smiled at her. “That’s why mine is password protected. You should see all the shenanigans at work. We had a one-hour meeting about how it was very inappropriate to take certain photos on other people’s phones. A week after that, we had to lock them in lockers. Do you know how hard it is to go all day without a phone?”

“You know people do live without the leash.”

“I don’t know how,” she mumbled as she ate the last of her banana split. “But you clearly like him and he liked you.”

Esther shook her head. “Clearly nothing more than a one-night Suzie.”

“You’re crazy. I saw the way he was looking at you.”

“Suzie the guy positively drips sexual tension wherever he goes. Churchill even says he has women lined out the door. Plus, the fact, he dates models. Do I look like a model?”

“Well, not dressed in your blue jeans and Star Wars shirt.”

“I’m comfortable.”

“Oh, come on Esther, you know you are very pretty. You just did not realize it since you were attached to Scott. You know you could have had half a dozen hook ups in the dorms.”

“Yeah, just what I need.”

“Probably, but you aren’t really that kind of girl. No offense Esther, but you really are not the love ‘em and leave ‘em type. You read too many Jane Austen novels.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You think there’s just one person made for another.”

“Literally, not true. Otherwise, I would have just stopped at Scott.” Suzie looked at her friend.

“I realize I was not there, but I do believe that was going around the dorm.” Esther looked at her friend, before turning her gaze back to the ocean view. “What happened?” Suzie took her friends hand.

Esther wiped the tears away. This was the worst decision ever. Why did she come here of all places? “I drank too much and found myself in ICU.” Esther let out a breath. “Then spent a couple of months in rehab and got discharged. Went home, started drinking again with Edward and his friends.” Esther took a moment to regain her composure. “The local doctor had me on depression medicine. I usually kept the two apart and one night, during a bad night reminiscing, mixed the two. Spent another few months in rehab again. After that, I knew what I had to do. I kicked Edward out, started dating a dirtbag who I convinced was all I could possibly deserve, found out he was cheating on me, kicked him out, mother died and now look at me. It’s been a real crappy few years Suzie.”

“Are you still taking your medication?”

“No, Dr. Middleton and I decided to try to go without it. I cannot live my life on pills Suzie. I don’t want to be that way.”

“Says every other person in the world. I see you are still not drinking.”

“Probably the only saving grace from this whole ordeal. I would probably walk myself right into the ocean.”

“You know what I think?” Esther looked at her friend. “You are still holding on to Scott. Did you go to the funeral?”

“No, I was in rehab and they wouldn’t let me go.”

“He’s in Arlington, right?”

“Yes.”

“And that is where Uncle Jack is going?” Esther nodded yes. “Then, why not spend time there as well. It’s not like you are working and you will already be there.”

“Maybe.”

“Esther, think about it. Now, let us talk about what broken heart songs we are going to sing?” Esther gave her a look. “Oh, I know you and country.”

They walked into Sam’s place and was promptly greeted warmly by Sam. Frank was there giving them a look. “Well, if it isn’t Esther and Suzie.” His tone was displeasing as he looked towards Esther.

“Frank, how are you?” Suzie asked.

“I’m good,” he looked them over. “You are going to wear something better tonight, aren’t you?” He addressed his question to Esther, “or did you finally realize Babington wasn’t your type?”

“Frank, why don’t you just worry about yourself and I will take care of myself.” Esther quipped back at him, determined not to let him get under her skin. They met the band and began to practice. A few hours later, Suzie and Esther walked into a light dinner prepared by Mrs. Collins before she left. They ate quickly, got dressed and returned to Sam’s.


	33. The Art Show

Charles woke up with a pounding headache. The combination of not eating, drinking and whatever that was with Esther. He pulled himself over to the chair. That had gone bad so fast, not at all what he intended or wanted. The last three days well, as he let out a breath, were the best he had in a long time. He looked at his phone. Maybe she texted him.   
That was a joke, she was livid. Well, she always said I would know when she was mad. He shook his head in agreement. She was mad.

He called Sidney.

“Babington.”

“Parker.”

“How is your day going?” Silence, not quite what he anticipated. He tried again. “What happened after you left the brew house?” More silence. “Charles, this is a very one-sided conversation. At least with Charlotte, she tends to yell at me.”

Charles swallowed hard and let out his breath. “I did something really stupid.”

“You hooked up with Caroline?”

Charles almost laughed. “What? No,” he hesitated, “I accused her of hooking up with Rally.”

“Who is Rally?”

“Some guy from the service she met up Friday before you came into town.”

“Well, has she?”

“I found a plane ticket to Arlington.”

“So, she’s planning on leaving.”

“Yes.”

“So, she hasn’t done anything yet. How come you think there’s something there?” Silence again. Sidney rolled his eyes in the phone. Charles was not usually this hard to get information out of. “Well, Charles.”

“I read a text message from him.”

“He sent you a text message?”

“No, it was on Esther’s phone.”

“So, did you get caught reading her messages?”

“Not exactly.”

“Charles, you are driving me crazy. Can you just spit it all out?” Charles retold his story, all of it. “You are back on Sunday before she leaves?”

“As far as I know.”

“Well, then you know what you got to do. Take it from me, do not wait. It only makes it worse.”

“But how am I going to fix it?”

“Look, other than reading her messages, you just got spooked. Just tell her how you feel. I mean like how you really feel. Don’t be beating around the bush.”

“But it’s so soon.”

Sidney laughed. “Denial is the first step Charles.”

“I don’t think I can do it.”

“Well, then chalk it up and move on.” His abrupt answer halted Charles. “I would love to sit around and get in touch with our feelings Charles, but I’ve got to go get Crowe. He’s done nothing but text me about his car all day.”

“Just his car?”

“Oh, I know they are all about Suzie, he’s just not particularly good at not being obvious.”

“Sidney.”

“Yes Charles.”

“Can you talk to her and see how she is?”

“I doubt she’ll want to talk to me after slamming the door in your face. I’ll ask Charlotte.”

“Thanks.”

“Try to enjoy your evening.” Sidney hung up chuckling as Charlotte walked into the den. “Well, Charlotte, I believe Charles has completely sunk himself.”

“Esther?”

“Yeah, but apparently, things got a little out of hand this morning. Can you find out what is going on about Arlington? Charles thinks she is meeting up with some guy named Rally.”

“I can try.”

“I am so glad we are past all that.” He kissed her while they went to get ready to go.

Charles ordered room service for a late lunch, then took his shower. He really did not care for the formal events. He looked in the mirror, probably because he really did not have anyone to enjoy them with. He went and poured himself another drink.

Dressed to the hilt, he let Tanner know he was ready to go.

Down the elevator, out the door, into the car and on his way he went. The evening started as tedious as ever. He went around, shook hands, smiled when necessary and spoke when he needed to. He found himself in front of the open bar again. He grabbed an open beer and walked around to look at the art. He found a familiar painting, belonging to a young man standing in front of it. 

“Otis Molyneux?”

Otis turned to the newcomer. “Yes, sir. You are?”

“Charles Babington. I believe I have seen your work in Maggie Valley.” 

Otis laughed. “Yes, I lost a bet.”

“A bet?”

“Yes. You see I was traveling overseas, and I ran out of money. I was trying to sell my paintings and the consultant was not being very persuasive. A young lady introduced herself   
and made me a deal. If she could sell five of my paintings, she would get to pick one to take back to the states.”

“I see you are here.”

“Yes, she has been incredibly lucky for me. The one you saw in Maggie Valley was the third one I had sold there.”

“So, five overseas and three in Maggie Valley.”

“Yes, plus some others in Pigeon Forge, Gatlinburg and Charlotte. I’m finally beginning to get out of the ‘starving artist’ mantra.”

Charles laughed. “And to who do you owe your turn of fortune?”

“Miss Denham.”

The sound of the name sent pains in him. “Esther Denham?”

“Yes, do you know her?”

Charles swallowed. “Yes, I do.” Or did as she was probably never going to speak to him again.

“She ever marry that jerk?”

Charles looked at him. “Jerk?”

“Yeah some guy named Peter that followed her around overseas. He was always stepping out when she was working. I think she knew; she was just in denial. I was hoping to hear she sent him to the curb.”

“As far as I know, she isn’t with him anymore. I believe he found some other girl to marry.”

“Good. Do you know if she is still there in Maggie Valley? I’ve been trying to find her since I got here.”

Charles smiled at him. “Why not give me your information and I will pass it on to her.” It would give him a good excuse to call.

“That would be wonderful.” He handed Charles a card and excused himself to meet some other people.

Charles walked around some more and heard a familiar voice. “Hello Charles.” He turned to find Caroline Bingley all decked out standing in front of him. “I was hoping you were going to be here.”

“Did you?”

“Oh, come on. You can’t still be mad.”

“If I remember correctly, you went chasing after Mr. Darcy.” She laughed.

“Please, I was just trying to get you to pay more attention. You were always working. I bet you still are.”

“Not of late, no. I’ve had other things to occupy myself.”

Caroline laughed. “You mean Sidney and Crowe?”

“Not at all. Excuse me.” 

Charles turned to walk away, and she grabbed his hand. “Wait. Fate has gifted us another chance Charles. Let us not waste this opportunity.” Charles looked at her.  
What he failed to see was the photographer lingering near.

“We are not the same people Caroline.”

“I believe I am the same person as I was.” He looked at her. At one time, he would have been happy, well at least at first, until he realized how false she really was.

He took his hand away. “I am not.” He turned and walked away. Done with the night, he excused himself to the hosts and went back to the hotel.  
He sat, opened another beer and closed his eyes. This was going to be a long night.

Sam’s place was alive with music and people. Sam had no idea on how the crowd had gotten so large. He had to borrow tables from the ice cream shop, which had closed early, for extra seating. He was sure the fire marshal would be in anytime to break it up.

Esther and Suzie walked through the crowd as well as they could. Suzie was being hollered by two men. Elliott and Crowe from different parts of the crowd. Elliott got to her first and gave her a hug and a kiss on the cheek, which she only laughed at him. Crowe came up with a disgruntled look on his face. “Where is my car?” he shouted over the music.

“It’s safe. It’s over by Esther’s condo.” Crowe looked at her, wanting her to take him to it. “I can’t leave yet. I’m part of the opening act.” Suzie laughed at his expression. She lowered her eyes. “No worries, I’ll take you to it.” Crowe leaned back and looked over to Sidney and Charlotte who were watching the whole exchange as Suzie walked off.

“What’s the matter Crowe?”

“She’s flirting with me. I mean openly flirting with me.”

“Well, on the flip side, she’s related to Susan Worchester. She’ll probably have her own money.” Sidney quipped at him as he walked back to Charlotte. Charlotte was trying to talk to Suzie and Esther, who had left her to go in the back. “Well?”

“I didn’t get the whole story yet. Something to do with a cemetery though.”

Sidney looked at his phone. Nothing from Charles, which was probably good as it meant he was not drunk dialing anyone, or at least he hoped.

Esther and Suzie were in the back with the band getting ready. Sam came by to make deliveries to the band. “This has got to be the biggest crowd I have seen in a long time.”

Frank decided to make a well-timed comment. “Well, that’s my job.” Esther rolled her eyes towards Suzie before turning them back towards the television. The local news was on. There was a storm coming over night. She hoped it would not affect her flight. She was on a schedule. As she walked out, she could hear the newscaster and she sworn she heard something about a Charles Babington. Unable to stop, she kept walking.

Crowe could hear parts of the conversation between Charlotte and Sidney and decided he should know what was going on. When Charlotte left to use the rest room, he decided to ask Sidney. The music was still very loud, and he only caught parts. Something to do with Esther, some guy named Rally, Arlington on Sunday and Charles being upset.

Well, he was bound to find one that he liked that was playing the field. He had plenty of them himself. He looked around the room and found Elliott in the front row looking at Suzie and Esther. His gazed wondered up, and he swore Suzie was looking directly at him. He must be drunk, he thought.

Some guy named Frank was up at the mic talking about his band, country of course, and the subs for their normal singer. He was not really selling it to the crowd. Esther placed her bottle on top of the piano. Crowe looked at her. Must be drinking tonight. Too bad Babington was not here to take advantage of it. He was more surprised when Suzie was taking the lead singer spot.

They started their opening songs country with an attitude to get the crowd worked up. Suzie took the lead in those two songs and Esther just played along with the electric guitar. Followed by four acoustic guitar songs, this time with Esther leading and Suzie singing along. One more back with Suzie on the lead, country with attitude. The crowd alive with the music. The band portion over, the bar switched over to open mic night with karaoke.

Suzie walked over to Sidney and Charlotte. “Well, what did you think?”

“I’m no expert but it appears the both of you have done this sort of thing before.” Sidney replied.

Suzie laughed. “Yeah, we started in the dorms until we started playing some gigs at a local bar. I am afraid some of these people know us from there. Elliott was nice enough to send the word out for me.” Crowe was back from wherever he had disappeared to.

Sam came over, “And I am very thankful. The fund raiser is going really well. I have got a list for the open mic a mile long. Haven’t had that in a few years.” He placed some cold beer on the table. “I’ve got Esther’s choice, where is she?” 

“She’s in the back. She should be out soon.” Suzie commented looking at Crowe.

Esther took a moment to run a cool wash towel over her face. She forgot how hot it got under the lights on the stage. It looked like Sam should have a good turnout. Mission successful, she mused to herself. At least one thing went right today. She walked out of the bathroom and spoke to some of the band members before trying to head outside.

Esther turned and found Frank walking over to her. “Well, I have to say I’m impressed. I had no idea.” Esther tried to walk around him. “You aren’t still mad about the other night, are you?” Frank was trying not to let her pass.

She squared up to face him. “Frank, you are implying that you made some sort of impression on me. I can guarantee you I am not in the little bit interested in whatever you are thinking. Now, I have done my part. I’m really just ready to go home.” She walked out and spotted Suzie with Crowe, Sidney and Charlotte and she groaned internally. She was not ready to face his friends.

“Suzie,” Charlotte asked as they heard people in the background from the bar taking turns on the open mic. “Can I ask you something?” Sidney and Crowe had walked off to deposit their empty bottles. “Is Esther leaving?”

Suzie looked around. “She’s going to Arlington for a day or two.” Suzie could tell Charlotte wanted more information. “She’s going to see Jack and Scott,” was her reply as Sidney and Crowe came back with fresh beers. Suzie looked up and saw Esther was being tailed by Frank. He was apparently pushing his luck.

“Come on Esther. You know you want to.” Esther kept walking as Frank was berating her. “I can give you a better time than him.” 

Esther was way past her limit for the day. She stopped short and turned to face him. Frank took this as a good sign as he reached up and placed his hand at the bottom of her neck in a move to kiss her. Suzie knew what was coming and went to stand behind her with a beer. Esther caught her eye before she acted. Esther grabbed his pinky, twisted and kneed him while informing him to leave her the hell alone. Sidney, Crowe and Charlotte could only look as the guy was wailing in pain, curled up in a fetal position, yelling explicit in Esther’s general direction. 

Suzie took the beer and poured it over him. Frank took a moment to yell about being assaulted at the general crowd of on lookers at that point. Two street cops had walked over as they were working through the large crowd. Frank took the moment to point to Esther and Suzie. “They assaulted me.”

The two officers looked from Frank back to Esther and Suzie before looking at each other. “Did you see something Joel?”

“I didn’t.”

“Did you Jimmie?”

Frank was still in pain. “My lawyer,” was the general threat towards them.

“We are shaking in our boots Frank.” Suzie replied. “Our lawyer will be more than happy to talk to the prosecutor’s office about filing our own charges.” 

Joel and Jimmie looked at the pair. “Everything alright Suzie?”

Suzie gave them a big smile. “Peachy guys. I think he might need some help though. You know Esther when she’s mad.” They walked back towards the others.

Crowe, slightly inebriated, took the time to make a general ass of himself as he tried to talk to them. “Going to see your boyfriends Esther?” Esther looked at him stone faced. She glanced at Sidney and then Charlotte, took a breath and walked away. 

Suzie slightly watched her friend walk away towards the condo. She took out the car key out of her pocket. “You’re a real jackass Crowe.” Addressing all three of them, Suzie took a deep breath. “Uncle Jack is being buried tomorrow in Arlington Cemetery and Scott has been there for the last few years. None of you deserve her, including your prick of a friend Charles. Rally was nice enough to coordinate all the funeral details so she wouldn’t have to.” She was reeling in the moment with Frank. “Not that it any of your concern, Rally happens to be in Germany right now.” She turned to walk away and threw the car key at Crowe. “Get your own damn car.” She walked double time to catch up to Esther.

Sidney looked between Charlotte and Crowe. “I do believe we just made it far worse.”

“What do we do now?” Charlotte asked as she watched the ladies disappeared from view.


	34. The Path Towards Redemption

Esther got back in the condo; the tears had started the moment she turned away from his friends. She shook her head, his friends. She had liked Charlotte even the other two jerks. They just assumed the worse instead of just asking. Just like Charles. Suzie came in and found her sitting against the kitchen cabinets on the floor. Luckily, the bottle in her hand was just root beer. Suzie held her while Esther could do nothing but cry.

After some time, the hot tears ceased, and Esther was able to almost put herself together. She decided to go take a hot shower. When she got out, she packed her bag and sat it by the door. Suzie had settled herself on the couch with extra pillows and blankets watching television. Esther gathered up the photos for Charlotte and put them in a large envelope so they would not be bent. She placed her itinerary in a folder. Sitting down next to Suzie, she handed her a new beer and she continued to drink another root beer in companionable silence. Suzie was flipping through channels when a clip of local news from Charlotte came on the screen. The news anchor was talking about the boardwalk relief fund and it showed images of the art show. ‘We talk to local community members on what you can do to help. More at six.’ The news anchor said, clearly reading his script.

Esther recognized Otis from overseas. Behind him though, she caught Charles in the background standing next to, whom she must assume was a model as striking as she was. The camera crew caught the lady grabbing his hand before cutting off. “Well, Suzie, I believe my earlier statement is correct. It was what it was.” Esther let out a deep breath before grabbing a bottle out of the refrigerator. She grabbed her phone off the table and went upstairs into Scott’s room. Esther picked up the book that had fallen on the floor. Mrs. Collins must not have realized she had been in there.

She placed two roses, one white the other orange, and pressed them in the book before placing a glass paperweight on top of the book. She let out a deep breath, turned and went to bed. There she stared at the ceiling for a long time. Fresh tears streaked her face. Suzie was right of course; she was a hopeless romantic at heart. Much like Aunt Sophia, she tried to muse herself. She looked at her phone. Voice mails. She dared not hope, nor dared to even look at them. She was propelled to go forward, not backwards. She would leave the photos for Charlotte, go to Arlington, let Scott go, pick up Goliath and start fresh. There was enough money. She could pick a spot on the map. She could go back overseas. She could go back in the military. Back to a regular job and they could send her wherever they wanted. It would be bound to be a fresh start, although she would make sure not to end right back in Tennessee or North Carolina.

Sometime in the middle of the night, she remembered she would need to get photos over to Mr. Gregory. She really was not sleeping very well anyway. It was still early, then sun was not up. She quietly opened her laptop and sent him an email with the photos. She realized there was another email from Mr. Gregory. An extra request for a few photos from Rainbow Falls Trail for Mrs. Campion. Esther groaned. She was not particularly fond of that trail due more to its difficulty. It was really beautiful though. Esther breathed in and out. She could take Scott’s stuff there and send it off in memorial. She could pack real light.

She quickly changed her return flight from landing in Roanoke back to Gatlinburg. She texted Jester to pick her up. Her bag was still mostly packed from the last trip. She would just need to grab a few things and he could drop her off. She could have it all done by Wednesday. It was close to the deadline, but she could do it. It would be better if she asked Tim as he knew the route better but then that would lead to all other sorts of conversations she was determined not to have.

She heard the delivery of the newspaper. She went and opened the door. On the front page was her reminder of why she needed to move on. The picture of Charles and the mystery lady. She could not help but read the photo caption. So that was Caroline Bingley. Apparently, there was more there than Charles had let on. He chided her for having unfinished business. The shoe was on the other foot now.

She was ready, she would rather sit at the airport than in this house. She went back upstairs, remembering she had left a bottle upstairs. She sat the phone down and then the newspaper while she readjusted her book. A note fell out. She picked it up. It was in Scott’s handwriting, but she never remembered seeing such note. After reading it, she knew why. It was in the event of his passing. Molly must have put it in the book thinking she would be by to collect it after his death. She never could bring herself to come back despite numerous attempts by Dr. Evers and Molly, even after she started back on her master’s degree.

Esther wiped the new tears from her face and walked out. She nudged Suzie to take her where she needed to go.

Goliath rolled into an empty parking lot. Aunt Sophia had sent her the address. Walking in, a lone security guard was working, rather relaxed, as nothing ever really happened on Sunday.

“Can I help you?” His name on his tag, Esther put on her charm.

“Officer Belmont, I have a personal delivery for Mr. Babington. I need to set these on his secretary’s desk.” Officer looked at the young lady. She was not the first lady to try to make personal deliveries to Mr. Babington. He normally had blondes though, who would come stepping into foyer all dressed out in outfits designed to elicit certain affects. This red head was dressed plainly in her fitting ripped blue jeans and a Star Wars shirt. Belmont let out a little chuckle. At least she knew his like for the franchise.

“I’m sorry miss, the office is closed. I can take it and make sure it gets delivered.”

Esther continued to smile at him. She held out a large flat envelope. “Officer Belmont, I apologize. I believe you mistake my intentions.” She pulled out some photos of the trail excursion carefully not to look at the reminders of a good time. “These are for him and his friends, as I was hired to take some personal photos for them. I was instructed I need to leave them on his secretary’s desk. I would come tomorrow but my uncle passed and I’m on my way to Arlington Cemetery for a funeral.” 

She caught the look. Officer Belmont must have been a veteran or known someone. “Please? You can even escort me. I have no other ulterior motive.” He continued to look at her and could tell she had been upset. Being a veteran himself, and having his own countless friends lost over the years, he could empathize with losing someone in the service. He argued with himself, as it did violate some protocols, but the pictures did contain Mr. Babington and his friends he recognized. They were not attempting to blackmail or coheres. He stood up.

“Come on then. I can’t be gone long.” He led her to the elevator and punched the button for the top floor. He looked at her in the elevator. She was pretty, especially with that red hair. “I’m sorry for your loss.”

“Thank you,” she swallowed back some tears. “It was unexpectant. Lucky for me I still have service friends that are still in and knew what to do.”

“A veteran too?”

“Yes, although I feel not enough. I only did four years. You?”

“I was in for ten, got out and couldn’t go back. I had gotten in a little bit of trouble. You seem rather still young. Could you go back?”

She smiled at him. “It has been on my mind of late. I do not relish the idea of going back through MEPS, but as you know, if you can do it once, the second time isn’t so bad when you know what to expect.”

“That’s what my second wife said.”

Esther looked at him. “Well, is that sound advice?”

Belmont laughed. “It’s worked so far.” The door opened and Belmont was still chuckling as he led her the correct way. Esther caught the large windows through the open door to his office. For a moment she was worried he was there. As Tanner had been driving them, it dawned on her that he could have been dropped off. “I see the cleaning crew forgot to close his door. His secretary’s desk is there.” He pointed to a large stately desk. He must like his secretary. Belmont walked over to close the door.

Esther looked around for a notepad. Opening a drawer, she found paper and a pen. She quickly scribbled a note and was about to leave it on top of the desk when the elevator doorbell dinged as the door opened. She momentarily caught her breath in her throat. Belmont had a totally different reaction since no one should be there.

Out of the door came strutting one Caroline Bingley. Esther was relieved it was not Charles but at the same time realized if she were there, he could not be too far behind. She started barking orders at them as soon as she spotted them.

“Coffee, black.” She looked at Esther, disapprovingly. “You know there’s a dress code.”

Esther, feeling well amused decided to quip back. “Clearly for his type of women.” Caroline stopped and looked at her.

“Excuse me?”

“I’m mean there’s not much left there for the imagination. Did you just get off work or is your shift just starting?” Oh, the lack of sleep and irritation was at its peak. Esther slid the envelope to the drawer as Caroline approached her.

Belmont looked at the exchange. He was not a fan of Miss Bingley, well not many were in security as she would always act like she owned the place. “Miss Bingley, Mr. Babington isn’t here.”

She turned her attention, momentarily away from Esther, “Clearly. Open his door.” She looked at him as he did not jump to her instructions. “I’m waiting. I have something to leave him.” Esther looked and found her holding the newspaper. The same one she had seen this morning. “You can see for yourself that I will be back around.” Belmont looked and saw the picture of Charles with Caroline and the hands. He turned to open the door as not to argue with her.

Caroline sat at his desk. The same as before, even the photos on the wall. He was so predictable. She hit the button on the intercom. “Where’s my coffee?”

Esther looked at the box on the desk with the voice barking orders. She hit the button to reply. “Get your own damn coffee.” She could hear expletives coming out of the office behind Belmont. Esther got out from the desk, thanked Belmont and was about to head towards the elevator when she realized it was coming back up. Knowing it had to be Charles, especially with Caroline showing up, she reassessed her situation and took the stairwell, well down at least one floor. She was not going to go down all those stairs.

Out of the elevator strode Sidney and Crowe in a debate. Belmont took a glance at them. “Mr. Parker and Mr. Crowe.”

“Morning Belmont,” Sidney spoke. “Babington here yet?”

“No sir, but” and before he could continue, they heard the shrill of the voice belonging to Caroline.

“Oh, joy.” She looked at them as they walked in. She gave them a disparaging look.

Crowe looked at her, “Miss Bingley, this is a surprise.” Crowe looked over at Sidney, who neither really cared for her. “Although, I did hear Mr. Darcy got away.” Crowe let out a snicker which got another ugly look.

“Well, I’m back so I suggest you watch your tone, especially you Mr. Crowe.”

Babington got off the elevator to find his office door open and a crowd of people in his office. “Belmont. I was wondering what was going on when there wasn’t anyone at the desk.”

“Sorry sir,” Belmont started to let him know about the other visitor, but Caroline butted in. No longer needed, he headed back to his desk.

“I came to see you.” Charles groaned, not that voice, not today. He strode in his office to find Sidney and Crowe there. Caroline got up, he noticed from his desk chair, and walk towards him. “I thought we could get lunch later.” Charles could feel the extra eyes on him.

“Caroline, I thought I made myself clear last night.”

Caroline held up the paper. “Oh, come on Charles, it has already made the news. You don’t need to be coy about it.” Sidney and Crowe could only watch the two. “And your lovely friends are here. I don’t particularly care for your new secretary, but I imagine she’d be easily replaced.”

“My secretary was here?”

“Well, obviously she knew you were coming in.” Only Sidney and Crowe knew he was back in town as he had left early, partially for the weather, mostly because he could not sleep. Esther. He had gone by the condo, but Goliath was already gone. He had left her voice mail, a few of them. Probably only one that did not sound like he was a blundering idiot and that was because he was talking about Otis. There was no response, so he thought a personal visit would be better, that is if she would even open the door. “Her professionalism was horrid, not to mention her attire. Enough about her. What about lunch?”

“Caroline, my response hasn’t changed from last night. Now, if you can either walk out or I can call Belmont back to escort you personally.” Caroline looked at him, her face red from anger and embarrassment. She let out some choice words and left.

“Well, that was highly entertaining,” Crowe said as she was walking out. “I’d even got a front row seat.”

Charles looked at the paper on his desk as he sat down. Great, he thought. He knew she would not have seen it on social media, as she was inclined not to be bothered with it, but for the newspaper. He had no idea if she had seen it before she left. Charles let out a breath.

“Did you talk to her last night?” He asked Sidney.

Sidney found himself not really wanting to talk about last night either. ‘Did not get a good chance too. Charlotte was able to find out, it had something to do with a cemetery. Suzie said she was going for a funeral for some guy named Jack.” 

“Uncle Jack?” Oh, this got much worse. It would explain Thursday night, but why would not she have just told him. Maybe Rally was meeting her there since he was in the service.

“Some guy named Scott is there too. I believe she was going to meet him.” Charles looked at Crowe.

“Scott is dead.” Now, it was getting much worse. Charles texted Tim. Maybe he could shed some light on the situation. Sidney looked at Charles as he waited for a reply. 

“Arlington Cemetery, where they bury veterans. Apparently, Uncle Jack is to have some sort of military funeral service.” Why would she not tell him? He decided to try back at the condo. “There’s no point of us sitting here.”

“You going to try to fly out there?” Sidney asked.

“Her flight wasn’t until later. Maybe she’s still at the condo.”

“I’ll catch up with you later.” Sidney replied.

“I was hoping for a trip.” Crowe remarked. “You certainly put Caroline in her place. Just what did happen last night?”

“Nothing, other than her wanting to get back together.” 

Crowe picked up the paper. “Don’t look that way.” Charles let out a disgusted huff at him.

“Thanks for the freaking reminder Crowe.” They went downstairs. Belmont had already left for the end of his shift. Charles nodded to the next guy as they headed out to their respective cars.


	35. Let the Past Die

Tanner opened the door to let Charles out. Goliath was back in its place. “Better wait, I probably won’t be here long.”

He knocked on the door and Mrs. Collins welcomed him in. Good sign so far, he thought. He noticed his flowers were still on the table, another good sign. Her laptop was also sitting out. The pile of photos though was gone. “Is Esther here Mrs. Collins?”

“No,” she replied.

“Her truck is still outside, is she not leaving?”

Mrs. Collins smiled politely at him. “Suzie dropped it off a little while ago.”

“Suzie was driving it?”

“Yes, she took her to the airport. She changed her flight details and left on the first flight out. She was worried about the storms that,” she looked out the window, “are here.”

“She’s not leaving her truck at the airport?”

“No, Suzie didn’t have her car here from last night, so she brought it here and some guy picked her up.” 

“Do you know when she’s going to be back?”

“As far as I know, she should be back tomorrow. The last time I talked to her she had mentioned going to Roanoke.” Meeting up with Tim and Augusta. That was a good sign. At least, her anger did not carry over to Augusta. Augusta had mentioned going to Myrtle Beach. Maybe, they were all going to drive down tomorrow and drop her off. “Anything else?”

He did not want to ask, but he did anyway. “How was she this morning?” He held his breath for hopefully some positive news.

“I didn’t see her. They were both gone when I got here.”

Drat. “Well, thank you Mrs. Collins.” He decided to go see his mother. He had bought one of Mr. Molyneux’s paintings and wanted to let her know. He arrived shortly later.

He found her in the library. “Well, my son has decided to grace me with his presence.”

“Hello to you too. I wanted to let you know you should be expecting a delivery.”

“Did you find something?”

“Yes, I think so anyway.” He caught a look on her face. “What’s the matter?”

“Well, I don’t know where I might put it.”

Charles looked at the blank wall. “Um, I hate to tell you this, but you have an empty wall.”

Kat laughed at him. “I bought something on the boardwalk. The wall is going to need some reinforcement for it to hang properly.”

“Sounds serious.”

“It’s not light. Come, I will show it to you. It’s in your father’s office.” They went down the hall into the other room. “Here it is.” There it stood, larger than life, the tree from Airlie Gardens with special attention to how the glass was cut around the limbs. “It is beautiful, is it not?”

“Yes.” He knew it was his mother’s favorite tree in the garden.

“It has no name on it.”

“Oh, she is supposed to come by to personally sign it sometime. She had to leave town for something important.”

Charles looked at her. “Who?” he asked, knowing it had to be her.

“Esther Denham.” Kat laughed. “Sophia Denham’s niece. Who would have thought the world so small? Obviously, would have asked for twice the amount if she knew anything about the acquisition. Oh, and such great charity work. All her proceeds are donating to the boardwalk relief fund and she even negotiated with the consultants’ commission. I wish some of our own grant writers were that persuasive.” Charles gave her a polite smile. “She’s apparently friends with Susan’s niece who is in the military. Do you remember Suzie?”

“Of course. I was out with her the other night.”

“You were on a date with Suzie?”

Charles laughed. “No,” Charles looked at her, “I was out with Esther, Suzie and my friends. We went paintballing.”

“Paintballing? You?”

“You know I do have a life outside of work.”

“Well, it’s just you’ve been spending so much time in the office.” Kat hesitated. “What about Caroline? Was she there too?”

Here it is, the question that his mother really wanted to know. “Mother, I hate to break it to you, but there is no Caroline and me. It is done. It’s over.”

“What about at the fund raiser? I saw a photo.”

Charles let out a long breath. “Contrary to the photo mother, I had been walking away from her when she grabbed my hand. I shook it off and told her that I had moved on.”  
Kat looked perplexed at him.

“So, if you aren’t dating Suzie or Caroline, just who are you dating?”

Charles went to pour him a drink and sat down on his dad’s armchair. “Well, honestly mother, I had been dating Esther Denham.” He took a drink, “At least until I put my foot in it.”

“You mean she knew about the acquisition?”

“Yes, but that’s not what has her upset.”

“She’s upset about Caroline?”

“Not that I know of,” however probably will be, “no I basically accused her of going to Arlington to meet another guy.”

“Charles, I’m really not following along.”

“She went to Arlington to bury her uncle at the cemetery for veterans. She left early this morning, so I was not able to apologize.” He almost let out a chuckle at that remark. 

“She’s not answering her phone.”

“Well, maybe she’s just dealing with the funeral.”

He had not thought about that. “Maybe.” A small glimmer of hope. He finished his drink and went to see his father.

Esther greeted the legion who came to provide the military rituals for the service. She could not but slightly tremble with the gun salute. She had cried so much, she found she had no tears for Uncle Jack, just a sadness in her heart. She had not been there for him. The whole purpose of not returning to the military was so she would be around if something were to happen. Not that it would have mattered in this particular case, but it still hurt. The service completed, she thanked them that visited.

Taking her time, she walked slowly to the one place she dreaded the most. She sat on the ground. Apparently, there was enough time to restock the tear department. There she sat for a long time. She realized once she got there, she had forgotten her phone. The only good thing was she remembered where she left it. Someone walked by and she had to ask for the time. Unable to stay longer, she said her goodbye and left for her flight.

Jester was cheerful as she met him in baggage claim, although she did not have any. “Traveling light kiddo?”

“The only way to travel Jester. I need to grab a few things and have you drop me off.”

“You are going to start this late?”

“Yeah, Tim should be able to catch up pretty quick.” Which sounded good in theory, if in fact, Tim was coming. She did not want to tell Jester why she was really going. “Besides, then I will have a ride back home and won’t need you.” That was something she had not accounted for but maybe she could find one of the rangers.

“Alright, I will wait in the car.” Esther quickly grabbed her pack exchanged a few things, grabbed a poncho since rain was in the forecast and changed into her boots. She grabbed the letters that she was going to let go, well burn to be honest, to help with that process. The ring she would give to Molly. She was not sure she really liked the idea of being on the trail by herself. So, she did what thought was appropriate. She put on her concealment pants and placed her 9mm in them. “All set?” Jester asked as she sat down in the passenger seat.

“I am unless you are going to make me ride in the back.”

“Well, sometimes you are criminal.” He teased her.

“Very funny.” She figured she could do two hours before setting up camp as he dropped her off.

The phone rang. Charles looked at the clock. It was extremely late. It was Augusta. His first thought was they had car trouble.

“Augusta?”

“Charles.”

“Everything alright? It’s late, don’t tell me you are still driving.”

“No, we are still in Roanoke.”

“What’s the problem then?”

“I um, I was wondering if Esther was with you?” Augusta asked rather quietly.

“Esther? Why would she be here? I thought she was supposed to be there with you.” He was awake now as he sat up in bed. “Augusta?”

“We were at the airport. She never arrived. They would not tell us whether she had got on board since we were not next of kin. So, I thought maybe you had taken her to Arlington.”

Charles let out his breath. “No, I had gone to Charlotte.”

“You didn’t go to Uncle Jack’s funeral?”

“It’s a long story Augusta.” He could hear her talking to Tim. “Have you tried her phone?”

“Yes, both Tim and I have. There’s no answer.” Certainly, she would have answered Tim.

“Maybe she flew back here.” He rationed in his mind. Although, that still would not explain why she did not answer her phone. “I don’t suppose Tim has a way of tracking her phone?”

“What? Why would he?” Augusta asked, then he heard Tim asked what the question was. “Hang on.” A few minutes later, “It says she’s there in Wilmington.”

“Well, mystery solved then. Maybe she is sleeping. You know like everyone else at this hour.”

Augusta let out a breath. “Well, that’s at least a relief. Sorry, Charles. Thanks.”


	36. Missing In Action

Charles fell back to sleep although it was restless. Finally, he started his normal routine with a run. He needed it. He got back, took his shower and had Tanner drop him off at work. He had gotten there a little earlier than normal, but he could go about his day. He chuckled as he looked at the coffee pot. ‘I can make my own coffee.’

He was slaving away when he heard his secretary finally arrive. Sarah came in slightly deflated than her normal self. She brought him his daily tasks and things that had arrived while he had been out with Esther. He let out a deep breath as he poured another cup of coffee. He turned on the news for some background noise.

“Sarah?”

“Mr. Babington?”

“Can you step in the office?” He waited for her to come close. “I want to apologize for Miss Bingley’s behavior.”

Sarah gave him an inquisitive look. “Miss Bingley?”

“Yes, she said she saw you yesterday morning. I’m sure she was quite the pill.”

“Um, Mr. Babington, I was not here yesterday.”

“You weren’t?”

“No, that is normally my off day. Was I supposed to be working yesterday?”

“No, I’m sorry. Maybe one of the other assistants were in the office. Can you have someone check the logs from security?”

“Right away.” He wondered which one of the assistants gave Caroline a piece of their mind. If he were a betting man, he would say Hannah. She had no filter. A beep on the intercom. “There were no assistants in the office yesterday sir.” He texted Sidney and Crowe since they got there before him. They only saw Belmont. 

“Sarah, have Belmont come to my office.”

“Yes sir.”

About ten minutes later, Belmont arrived. “Sorry sir, I hear you wanted to see me. I was on smoke break.”

“No worries, I’m simply confused. Caroline said my secretary was rude with her, but Sarah said it wasn’t here and there was no logged entries for any of the other assistants.” 

Belmont gave out a little chuckle.

“No, she wasn’t an assistant. She was here dropping off photos.”

“Photos?”

“Yeah, she showed them to me. It had you, Mr. Parker, Miss Heywood on them. Look like from the trail or hiking or something like that.”

She had been there! Before her flight, which meant she was not mad, although she would not have known that he had planned to stop by the office. “Where did she leave the photos? Did she come into my office?”

“No sir. I escorted her up to your secretary’s desk. Miss Bingley came in, requested coffee and went into your office.”

“Miss Bingley requested coffee?” He gave him a puzzled look.

“Well, it’s not really my place sir.”

“Just tell me.”

Belmont sighed. “Well, she demanded coffee and then exchange some verbal barbs with the girl.”

“Was she here when Sidney and Crowe showed up?”

“No, she had just left prior.”

“I don’t suppose you remember what she looked like?”

Belmont laughed. “Oh, that was easy enough. Red hair, blue jeans and a Star Wars shirt.” Esther, that was Esther. He breathed lightly. “You said she had some photos?”

“They were in a large envelope.” Belmont stayed put. “Was there anything else?”

“How was she?” He asked quietly.

“She was a little upset. She was on her way to bury her uncle I believe in Arlington.” Belmont paused and then let out a chuckle. “Got a bit of spirit though.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, she pretty much called Miss Bingley a prostitute without so many words of course. She was not too keen on making her a cup of coffee.”

Charles laughed, “No, no she wouldn’t be.” He hit the intercom and Sarah came in. “Sarah, was there an envelope on your desk this morning?”

“I didn’t see one Mr. Babington.” Charles looked back at Belmont.

“She didn’t leave with it.”

“Can you look around your desk?” Sarah went back. She came back a few minutes later.

“I found this in a drawer that I don’t recognize.” 

Charles opened it and there were the photos in question. He looked at them both. “Thank you. That is all.” Sarah shut his door. He took a deep breath and pulled out the photos. When did she even take some of these? He recognized the one from lunch when they sat around. One by one, he glazed over them remembering his hike. He came to the last one. It was from the nighttime campfire. When she had said she was setting up the cameras for wildlife. She had set them up for them. This photo though, took his breath away. He had been looking at her and her with him. It must have been around the time they were making hot chocolate as he was handing her mug to her. He rubbed his chin with his hand. What a mess he thought disgustedly.

He looked in the envelope and saw a sticky note. He trembled as he reached for it. It was short. ‘For you and your friends. I didn’t have any address for them’ was all it said. Maybe, just maybe that was her way of letting him know how she felt.

“Sarah, clear my calendar.” He chuckled as she sounded flustered. He arrived back at the condo. Goliath was still there. He knocked on the door. He did not know if he was just impatient or if it took a long time for it to open to Mrs. Collins.

“Mr. Babington, back already?”

“Yes, Mrs. Collins. Can you ask Esther if she would talk to me?” He decided maybe if he took her outside it would be better. 

“She isn’t here.”

“She’s not? I have not seen her. Maybe she’s out for a walk.”

“I was here early as Dr. Evers and his wife will be coming soon and I needed to get their rooms ready. She wasn’t here than either and I’ve been here since then.” Something strikes him as odd and he came into the house and went to her room. The bed was still made.

“Where else would she be?” He got out his phone and called her. No answer. There were quite a few scenarios running through his head and none of them happy. Sidney had mentioned a run in with Churchill Saturday night.

“Is something wrong?”

“She was supposed to be at my sister’s house last night, but she never arrived by plane. Her phone should be somewhere here. Is there a basement or something?” Horrible thoughts were now running through his head.

“No, but maybe she went in Scott’s room.”

“Where?” Mrs. Collins led him upstairs.

Before she could open the door, he suggested that maybe he should go in first. He expected to find her in there. Mrs. Collins was slightly confused but stood back. Taking a deep breath, he opened the door and found it empty. A sigh of relief washed over him. He turned on the light.

He glanced around and caught the newspaper sitting on the chair. It was from yesterday morning, which meant she had seen the photo. He went to move it and found her phone. The phone was dead, which might explain why she was not answering. But why would she leave it? She must have left in a hurry, which means there was something that must have triggered her. He glanced around the room. Most of it was books, military awards and there was only one photo. Two people in front of a fighter jet. His eyes drifted over it. An incredibly young Esther wearing a flight suit standing next to a young man, obviously Scott. That must have been her incentive ride where Rally was supposed to be the one flying.

He continued to look around the room until they rested on the small stack of books in front of him. He lifted the glass airplane off the book and looked at the first book. Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice, in hardback. The pages did not lay flat. He opened it and found the message on the inside cover from Scott to Esther, about how he came up with her call sign, Evee. Flipping through, he found flowers. Daisies, what looked to be red roses, now faded and towards the back, white and orange. She had saved them from his bouquet. He took it as a good sign. Last, the little pamphlet from a funeral, Scott’s obviously. Maybe she had put the flowers in the book before she left. She would have set her phone down to do so. He closed the book and put the glass airplane back on top. The phone though, he remembered she had charged it on the table.

Charles closed the door and went back downstairs. The cord was gone, which meant at the very least, she had intended to take her phone. He put it in his pocket. 

“What is it?” Mrs. Collins looked at him.

“Her phone is here, she didn’t show up at my sisters, so now I am wondering just where she is. Her friend, Tim, does not know. Do you have Suzie’s contact information? Maybe she knows something.”

“I do not.” She looked at him, “but it’s probably in her phone.” Charles looked at her. That is what got him in this mess to begin with. Although, if Tim were to look in it, then maybe it would be alright. He called Augusta.

“I got her phone but she’s not here. The housekeeper has not seen her. All we know is a friend dropped her off at the airport, or so we think.” He told Augusta.

“You don’t know?”

“Well, they had taken the truck this morning, but it was gone when I came by. It is back here now.”

“Can’t you call her friend?”

“Don’t have her number and I’m not about to start snooping through her phone to find it.”

“This is kind of important. I’m quite sure she wouldn’t mind.” She heard Charles huff. “Oh, you aren’t with her. Never mind, maybe she would mind.” It was too long of a story to discuss now.

“The phone is dead anyway at the moment. She took the phone cord, so she intended to take the phone but forgot it.”

“You do know how to charge a phone don’t you?” His sister asked sarcastically.

“I’ll see if I can work it this end. When are you going to be here?”

“About an hour left.”

“Alright, meet me in the office.” He gave Mrs. Collins a card with his numbers so if she heard anything, she could get a hold of him.

He texted Crowe, on a wild chance that maybe he had gotten Suzie’s number. The reply back was something to an explicit tone, so obviously not.


	37. Rainbow Falls

As he arrived back at work, he thought about Aunt Sophia, although that might send the old lady to the hospital. He could reach out to Clara and in turn, Edward, but the chance of her telling him anything was very slim. Mary Lou, but again no number. Then, he thought maybe Jester might know something. He had Sarah track down a number for him along with a correct charging cord.

She came back shortly with the number. He picked up the phone while mildly looking at the television.

“Sheriff’s office,” a lady answered the phone.

“I’m looking for Officer Jester.”

“May I ask who is calling?”

“Charles Babington.”

“Hold for a moment.” He taped his pen on the notebook. “He’s currently on a call.”

“This is kind of important. It’s about his cousin, Esther.”

“Hold on.” He breathed in and out an angry breath. “Yeah, he asked me to get your contact information. He is on a call with some prison escapes. It might be a while before he can get back with you.” Charles gave her the information.

Great, he mused at the weather forecast. More rain and storms likely the rest of the week. He called his mom to see if she could track down the number through her friend. He tried to look at some work, but it was obvious, he was too distracted.

Augusta came in along with Tim and an upset Sarah. “I’m sorry sir, they just came bolting in.”

Charles laughed. “It’s alright Sarah, this is my sister Augusta and her friend Tim.” Sarah made some apology and left. He caught Tim giving him a hard glaze. “Still working on the phone charger, I’ve called Jester but he’s on some important call right now and I’ve reached out to find a number for Suzie.”

“Who is Suzie?” Augusta asked.

“Her friend from the military. She was with her on Saturday. I guess she’s some relation to one of my mom’s friends.” Tim looked around the office before sitting down on the couch. He noticed a pile of photos.

“May I?” Tim asked.

“Sure.” Tim and Augusta looked over the photos from the trail. They were good. “I take it these are your copies?” 

Charles frowned at that, “I think we are supposed to share them.”

“Odd.” Tim replied but started watching television.

Charles could feel Augusta looking at him, staring him down. “Tim,” Augusta said, “You think you could go to the café and get me a pop? It’s on the third floor.” He smiled at her.

“Certainly.” Off he went, without realizing he had been sent on a fool’s journey.

“So, what is really going on?” she asked him.

“It’s a mess Augusta. I don’t even know where to start.” He got up and looked out the window. She noticed the paper on his desk and another photo.

“Caroline Bingley?”

“What?” He turned towards her and saw her holding the photo.

“Only part of the problem. I basically implied she was hooking with Rally in Arlington.”

“At Uncle Jack’s funeral.”

“Yep, that be it.” She picked up the photo of the fire camp.

“Oh, this is really good. Isn’t this when we were drinking hot chocolate?” She saw the expression on his face. “I’m sorry Charles. But she’s not fallen off the face of the planet.”

“Where is she? It’s not like she’s on social media to track her down.” He looked out the window. “She was pretty angry with me Augusta.” His cell phone lit up with a text message for a phone number to Suzie. He picked up and dialed. No answer, so he left a message to call him asap about Esther.

Tim was back with a pop which he handed to Augusta. “Man, look at that line of storms back home.” They caught parts of the broadcast showing storm damage going through Gatlinburg. “I’m glad I’m not on the trail this week.”

“Do you normally go this week?”

“Rainbow Falls each year during the same week. It is only about six miles, but it is rough, so I usually stay a day or two. Besides, the waterfall is best after a storm.”

Esther snuggled herself as best she could. This week was not starting off so well. Funeral for Jack, saying goodbye to Scott, rain, rain and more rain. More rain meant more mud. 

She thought about the guys that went mud bogging in their trucks. She was liable to look like that at this rate by the time she returned. She should just assume she was going to have a hard time getting a ride back to civilization as well. If she had just had her phone, she could at least text someone that would care enough to send a car.

She had dozed off after the rain had stopped. Somewhere in the middle of the night, she heard scuffling in the woods. Great. A bear, just what she needed. Then, she heard some voices. Lost hikers as they were not on the trail that lead to Rainbow Falls.

“Johnny, I thought you said you knew where you were going.” A raspy voice called out.

“It’s around here somewhere,” obviously the voice belonging to Johnny.

She had almost decided to pop out of her hiding spot to help, when the sounds of a muffled cry by the sound of a woman’s voice cautioned her.

“Johnny, tell her to be quiet.” She heard the distinct sound of a slap.

Great Esther thought. Some sort of domestic dispute in the middle of the woods. 

“We need to go back the other way.”

“Are you sure Whittaker’s cabin is out this way?” The voice belonged to Johnny. “You better not be leading me around for nothing Barnes.”

Esther listened as they departed the area. Whittaker’s cabin had washed out two years ago. Why would they be looking for that spot was beyond her. It was further past the falls and would need to cross probably some deep water at this point with all the rain. As she continued to listen, she recognized the sound of a helicopter. Why would a helicopter be out this time of night? A lost hiker perhaps. It had been known to happen a time or two. Still though, most rescue operations would be during the day due to having to send rescue crew by foot. Esther thought about it some more, took out her camera, and used her zoom lens to see if she could see anything about the helicopter.

A police helicopter instead of one that was used by the park. Esther suddenly felt dreadful. She wished she had brought her flash, although that might give away her position to the voices that had departed. It would be light in a few hours. She tried to rest up, her senses heightened.

Esther quickly packed her stuff up and attended to her needs. She obviously had not prepped like normally she does before a hike. She chose to leave her pack in the cubby hole to go look around. She took out her gun and made sure it was ready to go, just in case. She was not sure what she might run into.

She chose to not take the direct path, staying confined through the wild. She knew she would have the worst case of poison ivy and sumac by the end of the day. She thought about to give up when she finally spotted something. They had managed to find the trail that led up to the waterfall. She used her camera with its lens. Two men, not looking like typical hikers, although the jumpsuit was a dead giveaway. At first, she did not see the woman and assumed the worse, until she saw him yank her up from the ground. A corrections officer by the look of her. They had her handcuff in the front. Best case scenario, she had a taser on her when she was taken. Worst case, they had at least one gun. 

She sat still and watched as they headed away from her. She was in a very precarious position. She could not leave the woman to fend for herself, but she was likely to put herself in an extremely dangerous position. Best case scenario, they would kill her, worst case, well she did not want to think about it.

She made her way back to her pack. She repacked her camera and took out her notepad. She left a note inside the bag, thankfully in a couple of Ziplock bags. She made another that she would leave on part of the trail that hopefully someone, other than them, would find and alert the appropriate authorities. She was glad for the cargo pants. She packed her poncho and protein bars and started her trek.

Leaving the note at a comfortable eye level, she tied her handkerchief and rigged it as best she could to the little tree. It began to rain again. More than a sprinkle, not a torrential down pour, it meant they were less likely to make much progress not familiar with hiking. She would come up on them quick if she were not careful.

At times, she thought she heard the helicopter again. Why she had not packed a flashlight this trip was beyond her. Comfortable that she was far enough away and concealed, using mud to help cover the skin, she ate a protein bar. The rain had been steady at this point. She had slowed her own progress to ensure she did not injure herself.

At one point, she was close enough to them but still concealed. They had set the woman on the ground and wondered a little bit away. The woman was apparently going into shock. Great, that meant they would both be coming for her once her presence was made known. Two men, dangerous enough, and possibly armed. The only good thing going for her is apparently they had brought no provisions and were hungry based on the bits of conversation she could pick up on.

The helicopter was back in the area and she noticed they had decided to try to head into the woods out of sight, leaving the woman on the ground. It was her best opportunity as she watched them continue without her as they kept trying to stay hidden. She quickly bolted from her spot over to the woman. The woman was in shock. Her skin cold and pale. Everything else happened in slow motion around her.

The men yelling and coming towards her. Tim stepping out on the trail. One of the men pulling out the gun and firing towards Tim. Years at the range, her motion was smooth and without hesitation. She was focused on the guy with the gun, that she failed to realize how close the other guy was when he swung a knife at her. As she went to block it, she slightly stumbled as he reached for her gun, but she was quicker and was able to fire a round at him that caused him to fall. Out of the woods, the task force came out and defused the situation.

Radio traffic blaring over the walkie talkies, they were reporting one fatality, one critical, two injured and one in shock. It took her a full minute to realize the deputy was asking her if she was alright. Other than the knife cut on her arm, which one of them was wrapping up. She felt out of body as she responded to the questions, about how she was, who she was, etc.

She looked over to Tim. He had taken a bullet, luckily non-life threating, a graze along the shoulder. She went over to him. “A little late I think?”

“Why can’t you ever do what you are supposed to?”

She smiled at him weakly from the event. “What’s the fun with that?”

The deputy took her gun. She looked as they made a makeshift to carry the bodies back after taking some photos for the scene. Luckily, the woman was somewhat ambulatory. The one man she shot and was still alive was spitting obscenities towards everyone. He would throw some out towards her letting her know he would be by to see her. Tim and she took their time walking back. She had to go back for her pack.

“Maybe you’ll make sure you have your phone from this point on.”

“I didn’t think to find myself in this situation. The worst case would be a bear.”

“This is why I tell you not to go by yourself.”

“I can honestly say, I have no intention of going any trail, anytime soon let alone by myself. I’m not sure I will even walk around the block now.” She took a breath as they had stopped for a short break. “How did you know I was even here?”

“Charles has been on a mission ever since you were not back by Monday morning.”

“Charles?” She asked him perplexed.

“Esther, I hate to break this to you, but the man is obsessed.” He was smiling silly at her. “I mean, even more than me.” He gave her a wink. “I don’t know what you did, but apparently he liked it.” 

She could feel her cheeks turning red. “I have no idea on what you mean.”

“Bull crud.” Tim kept the teasing on, “You are not a very good liar.” He let out his breath. “Why didn’t you just tell him you were going to bury Uncle Jack?”

“He was reading my phone messages!” She puffed out but clearly not as angry about it now as she was before. “He just put a couple of pieces of information together and just assumed I was hooking up with Rally in Arlington.”

“Well, I believe Suzie cleared all that up.”

“Suzie knows?”

Tim laughed. “Charles, Suzie, Charlotte, Augusta, Sidney, Crowe, I and even Jester knows a little. We are all here. Well, Charles is out in the parking lot. Jester had to put him in the car for a moment so he would go trekking into the woods as soon as he got here. Then, the second time, Jester had to cuff him to the car.”

“How did you get let on the trail?”

“Easy, when Jester was busy with Charles, I hopped into the woods and away I went. The rest of them are back at Darcy’s place.”

“The gang’s all here.”

“Yep. I hope those pictures are worth it.”

“No worries. I believe I might charge extra for them.”

As they approached the end of the trail, Esther could see more deputies. They had loaded up the one woman in an ambulance and was working on the other two. Jester saw her first and came over to berate her for her behavior.

“Of all the stupid things you have done, in your entire life, Esther, this has got to be the worst one.” She knew Jester was livid by the way he clenched his teeth at her. He stared hard at her for a few minutes before he relented and let out his breath. “Are you okay?”

“Well, I am a little hungry and would love a shower.”

“Very funny.”

“Oh, I’m serious. I could eat a bear at the moment.” Jester finally cracked a smile at her.

“You look like one.” He gave her a hug. Another officer called out for him and her. She had briefly glanced over the direction towards Charles, who apparently was still handcuffed to the car. Tim had wondered over to talk to him.

“You will need to come by the office to sign some paperwork. We will release your weapon back to you once we run its registration and your license.” The deputy looked at her. 

“Probably not the smartest thing to do, but definitely one of the bravest. That woman will survive thanks to your thinking.”

Esther could only slightly smile. She was beat and lightheaded and before she could think of anything else, she passed out. Luckily, Jester caught her. When she woke back up, she was in the ambulance with Tim.

“A little dramatic, aren’t you? It was just a knife wound. Look at me. I took a bullet and you didn’t see me pass out.” Tim teased her.

“You were probably eating steak last night. I don’t think I ate really since, well Saturday afternoon.”

“Esther, you really need to work on overcoming this fear of having to use the shovel in the woods.”

“I’ll put it on my bucket list. Where are we going?”

“Gatlinburg hospital. We will both need to get checked out before they will release us.”

“I don’t suppose anyone brought me some clothes on their adventure?”

“They are back at the cabin. I didn’t realize you would be rolling around in the mud.”

The EMT spoke to her and kept checking her vitals. “You are severely dehydrated. You are going to need an IV.”

“Great, I just love needles.”

“Is that sarcasm?” The EMT asked her and Tim.

Tim let out a chuckle. “That was serious sarcasm.”

“Where is Charles?”

“Jester is bringing him. I believe he’s even going to let him ride shotgun in the cruiser.”

“Maybe, he’ll show him how to turn on all the lights.” Tim laughed as Esther closed her eyes while the EMT worked on the IV.


	38. Confessions of the Heart

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Stealing some of Sidney's lines here...

Charles was a nervous wreck as Jester followed behind the ambulance. When he had heard about the one fatality over the radio, he collapsed against the cruiser. He had finally gotten up right when Jester had come back over and told him that it was one of the escapees that had been killed. Then, he had seen the group slowly come out in the open. A bunch of deputies, a woman that was struggling to walk and carrying two bodies. One of which was spitting fire at the top of his lungs on how he was coming back for her. 

Her. He had to mean Esther. But there was no Esther or Tim. What happened to them, he wondered. It was just the space of maybe ten or fifteen minutes, but felt longer, before he saw her emerge next to Tim. Both sustained injuries by the look of it. Esther looked dreadful. He saw her look this way before walking back to talk to the deputies for something. Then, she collapsed into Jester’s arms and consequently, loaded into another ambulance.

“She’ll be alright,” Jester looked over at the young man sitting next to him. “The body tends to pump adrenaline at the beginning of a situation like that. After a while, it stops, and the body gets worn out. She said she was hungry too, so she probably hadn’t eaten decent in the last two days at least.” Jester continued to look at him. “Definitely needs a bath though.” Jester let out a chuckle. “She looks like she had been crawling in the mud.”

Charles sat quietly.

“You alright Charles?”

He let out a breath. “Sorry, just thinking.”

“Must be something serious with that look.”

He rubbed his forehead. “It’s been a real shit show since Saturday morning Jester. She was pretty upset with me. I just don’t know if I can repair things.”

“Well, it’s been my experience with Esther that she tends to forgive more than you would think. Unless of course if you cheated on her, then I would stay at least two hundred feet away.” Jester looked at him as they pulled in the hospital parking lot. “You know Charles, I believe in this particular situation, Jack would tell you shit or get off the pot.”

“What?”

“Either tell her everything or walk away, Charles. She does not need someone that is only vaguely interested in a couple of nights. She is not really that kind of girl. The real question you need to be asking is what kind of guy are you?”

Jester stepped out of the cruiser and left him there to ponder.

Dr. Bennett was making his rounds in the emergency department. He walked in and immediately let out a friendly chuckle. “Miss Denham.”

“Dr. Bennett.”

“So, I hear you’ve been playing in the woods.”

“I was bored.”

“You look like you could use a shower.”

“A stout observation doctor. Do they teach that at medical school?”

“I think you’ve had enough of the IV.” He looked at her arm and the knife cut. “How you feel?”

“Better.”

“I believe I can release you to go home.”

“Do I get to take a shower first? I feel like I’ve got poison ivy everywhere.”

Dr. Bennett chuckled. “Would you like a shot?”

“This time I will say yes. You know I’m not a fan of needles.”

“Alright, I will see what I can do for you. I will have the nurse get you all squared away.” A young nurse came in.

“Dr. Bennett had us round up an extra pair of scrubs and some soap. I will let you take your shower and then come back to give you a shot. I have an extra bag for you to put your clothes in.”

“Thank you.” Esther stepped into the bathroom and turned on the shower. She was never so happy to take a shower since basic training. She heard the door to her room open. 

The nurse must be back she mused. Well, she will just have to wait. She was careful not to get her arm too wet, but she was going to need a new wrap for it afterwards. She giggled in delight as she found the toothbrush and toothpaste. There was not a whole lot she could do with her wet hair though. She dried her hair as much as possible. With the humidity in the air from the storms, it was bound to start curling a little after she went outside. 

Charles sat in the car as Jester walked into the hospital. Was Jester, right? The better question would she even believe him? The photo would squash creditability of his denial, even though Caroline had grabbed his hand. When they had arrived in the parking lot, he was a man obsessed with little regard to his own life as he had tried to take to the trail himself. Jester had thrown him in the back seat of the cruiser like he was some criminal. When Jester thought he had calmed down long enough, he had let him back out, only to be handcuffed when the voices on the radio chatter had talked about shots being fired.

He could not deny it, not really. Could she possibly feel the same? Was it enough if she only liked him, trust him? Could she grow to love him? 

He stepped out of the cruiser and headed into the hospital. “Can I help you sir?” The older nurse behind the desk asked him as he approached.

“I’m here for Esther Denham.”

“Are you family sir?”

Charles looked at her. “No.”

“You’ll have to wait in the visitor’s lounge. Only family is allowed back at this time.” Charles stared at the lady in disbelief. A security guard was nearby, which meant if he went busting in, he would find himself back in handcuffs. He let out a disgruntled sigh as he sat out in the lounge.

Jester and Tim walked out. “What are you doing here?” They asked him.

“Apparently, it’s family only allowed back there.” Jester looked at Tim then back to Charles before letting out a laugh. “What is so funny?”

“Well, you are. You about get yourself arrested a few times trying to hike a trail that even experienced hikers have trouble with, not to mention were willingly to run into a very dangerous situation and suddenly, when there’s only one guard, you follow instructions. Seems very illogical to me.”

“I didn’t want to spend the night in jail.”

“You could have had said you were family. What are they going to do, run your DNA?” Tim thought out loud.

Jester chuckled a little more. “Come on, I think I got enough pull to get you back there.” Jester waited. “Unless you were here to pick up Tim?” Charles got up quickly. “Tim, I’ll be right back.” Jester said something to the nurse and led Charles to Esther’s room. “Just remember, she’s not armed and dangerous right now.” Jester gave him a wink as he walked away. Charles stepped in front of the door and took a deep breath. He could hear the shower was running. He sat in the chair by the window.

She felt kind of foolish underneath her scrubs, but she was not going to put on the wet undergarments. She would be home soon she guessed. It should not matter that she was going commando at the moment. The nurse had given her a pair of those ridiculous slipper socks. She was not going to put those on. She opened the door and headed out.

“Sorry if I took too long.” She spoke thinking the nurse was in the room. Instead, she found herself looking at Charles.

“Apology accepted.” He smiled gently at her. She raised her eyebrow at him.

“I thought you were the nurse.” Crap, she is still pissed at me, he thought to himself.

“I can be.” Maybe, if he kept talking to her then it would get better.

“Oh, so you’ve been to medical school?”

“If you get to pretend, you’re a pilot, I don’t see why I can’t pretend to be a nurse.” She could not argue with that logic. He looked forlorn as if he were waiting for her to tell him to leave. “Esther,” the look was different than before, not that it was not intense, there was just something else to the tone.

The door opened and the nurse came back in. “Alright, I’m here to,” she spotted Charles and got slightly flushed before looking at Esther, “um, give you a shot.”

Esther looked at Charles. “Now’s your chance nurse or should the professional do it?”

The nurse looked perplexed at Charles, “Are you a nurse?”

He let out a sigh, “not at the moment,” he looked back over to Esther and gave her a look, “but maybe later.” Esther could not tear her gaze from him. Her butterflies were back in her stomach.

The nurse at first was perplexed at his comment, until she realized what he meant, and got embarrassed. “Yes, well, this should just take a moment. Can I see your arm?” The nurse lifted her sleeve slightly. “I forgot. We need to wrap this back up. How about the other arm?” The nurse stepped over to her right side and administered the shot. “I’ll have to go get some more gauze. I’ll be right back.”

Charles stepped closer and looked at her arm where she had been cut. The slash was horizontal and had been stitched up. Any deeper and it could have been detrimental. Before he could close the space between them, the nurse was back. “Can you move to the other side? I need to get this done.” Charles moved to Esther’s right side and sat on the bed next to her while the nurse finished. “Alright, I need to read your discharge instructions about your wound.” Charles was actively listening for signs of an infection while Esther slightly listened. Charles had sat remarkably close on the bed. “Okay, so you are good to go, although you will need to put on shoes or those slipper socks. Health and safety codes, you know.” She pointed to the slipper socks in the package on the table. “I believe you are all set to go unless you have any questions.” She looked at them both and when nothing was said, she left.

They heard the door close. Esther got up to put some distance between them and went by the window. “Esther.” Charles followed her. “I know you don’t have hold me in high esteem right now and I have no right, but I came here without expectation and in the spirit of friendship.” Charles took a deep breath. ‘You can trust me’ is what he wanted to say. 

Esther looked at him. His expression was open and honest. There really was not much pause but it felt like it as he waited for her to say something, yell at him or hit him.   
She crossed her arms. ‘Well, here it comes, he thought, this is where she tells me I have no chance, no depth. I am just shallow. “Then, why exactly did Jester have to handcuff you to the car?” This was his chance, Esther pondered, to admit whether he had really had any expectations. Jester’s voice was in his head. Trust worked both ways. How could he expect her to trust him if he were not willing to be just as vulnerable?

“I didn’t want you to think too badly of me.” ‘Please don’t tell me you think of me at all’ he thought. He was willing to put himself into danger because of her opinion of him. He rationalized that was a weak statement.

She was not nearly as upset at him about reading her text messages as she had been Saturday morning. Her reaction had been mainly because he accused her of meeting up with Rally after their night together. It was like he had expected her not to think it was just a one-night stand. She was confused.

She had been surprised to find him still in the condo after she had left on her errand to the art gallery. The difference was she had not wanted to have any expectations, it had been hard to convince herself that as she was laying in his arms as he slept and by the time she returned she had convinced herself that was all it was going to be. 

Now, he was here saying he came without any expectations.

He took another breath. “Contrary to what you may think, I’ve not found myself in this kind of position before.” She was waiting for him to continue. “I’ve never wanted to put myself in someone else’s power.” ‘Because you silly girl, I love you’ is what he wanted to say as he looked at her. This was terrifying. No wonder why she seemed so reluctant to put herself back out there. If she walked away from him now, he knew he would end up drinking like Crowe did most days or worse. Esther could tell that he was slowly thinking out loud, testing her reaction as he spoke to her. “I never wanted to care for anyone else before and I was terrified that something bad had happened before I could tell you.”   
There an open and honest admission, Sidney would be proud.

The space between them as he spoke had closed some. Her body language had changed from closed to open as her arms were no longer crossed against her body. She was biting her lip as she was contemplating as he spoke. He wished she would say something, anything. Her face was not revealing anything.

“Well, I am going to need constant attention with my injury.” Esther finally spoke, “and I’m probably going to need a lot of attention for a while.” Charles realized he had been holding his breath waiting for an answer. 

He slowly realized she was relenting, “I think with my nursing skills I will be able to take care of you.” He took her hands to close the space completely. He was smiling like a fool again. “And I’m the boss so I can make my own schedule.” There is that smoldering look again. He was drinking her in as if he were afraid, she was not there. He leaned down and kissed her.

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about Jack.”

“I’m sorry I jumped to conclusions.” He let out his breath. Was now a good time to talk about Caroline at the art show? Well, why not, they were talking. “And about the photo with”

“I already know.”

He looked at her. “It’s just I don’t want you to think anything happened.”

“Otis told me.”

“Otis Molyneux told you?”

“Yeah, apparently he had overheard the exchange at the art show. I ran into him at the airport.” He needed to buy more paintings to compensate the man. “Now, are we staying here or leaving? I would really like to eat now.”

“Turning into a bear, are you?”

“Yeah, apparently a big teddy bear.” He laughed at her and took her hand as they walked out. They went outside only to find Jester and Tim had left them.

“Seems like we’ve been abandoned.”

“Probably just Jester’s way of getting even.” Esther was too amused to be mad about it. Besides, it meant that they would have had to talk to each other if they had not cleared the air in the room. Sneaky Jester.

“Are we supposed to walk?”

“What, no Tanner?”

“He’s back in Pigeon Forge.”

“Don’t tell me you don’t have your phone.”

He chuckled. “Unlike you, I always ensure I have it on me. You never know when you might need a ride.”

“Good. Can I borrow it?”

“Is this some sort of test?”

She shook her head. “I was going to call Sophia’s house for a ride, but if you want to wait for someone to come find us then I will suggest getting my room back.” She watched him with humor. “Unless you want to call her yourself? I do believe you are under some impression that she likes you better than me.”

“I’m not scared of Sophia.” Esther raised her eyebrow at that remark. ‘Yet,’ she mused. He handed her the phone. “You have her number memorized?”

“You know back in the old days, you almost had to either carry a phone book or memorize phone numbers. Hers happens to be easy to remember. Lucky for you though there is all this technology since you get lost going around the block.”

“You seem pretty grumpy now. Besides, I didn’t hear you complaining the other night.” He smiled at her as she flushed.

“I’m hungry.” Esther knew he was teasing her. “And neither were you Babington.”

“Duly noted.” He smiled at her. “So, are you going to call or stand here all night and debate the merits of technology?”

He watched her in amusement as she made the phone call. A short time later, Hodges pulled up. “Sophia has her own driver?” He asked as Hodges opened the back-passenger door to the extended car. 

“You don’t really want to see her behind the wheel, but yes.” Esther cuddled up next to Babington as Hodges drove the car to the cabin. Charles wrapped his arms around her to enjoy the moment. She had to be wore out from the ordeal. He was going to have to behave himself tonight. It took about twenty minutes to get to Darcy’s Place. Long enough that Esther had slightly dozed off against Charles.

“Come on grumpy. Let us get you something to eat.” Esther was not sure she was happy that her nap got disrupted, but she was hungry. They found Tanner sitting on the couch as Charles had texted him that Esther planned for a driver to bring them back. “Where is everyone else?”

Tanner stood up, “They are all downstairs sir.” Tanner looked at Esther. “How are you Miss Denham?”

“I’m alright Tanner, thank you. Although I will not be arm wrestling for a few days. Hungry now.” She walked towards the kitchen. Apparently, Augusta had cooked some pot pies while they were out. All they need to do is heat them up a bit.

“Do we tell them we are back?” Charles asked as he sat down next to her.

“Do you want to eat in peace?” He laughed at her. “Besides, the better question to ask Charles” she dropped her voice a little as she leaned towards him, “is where are you sleeping?”

“With you if you want me to. I didn’t want to assume anything.” Although, he was relieved to find she had not really hesitated with the suggestion.

“I think I like the old apologetic Charles where he does what he wants and then ask for forgiveness.”

“I’ll remember that.” He looked at her. “Besides, how else am I to check your vitals?” He could tell he was having an effect on her. Good, he thought since she had left him alone Saturday morning, he thought he did something wrong. “Calm down Juliet. I want you to get some sleep tonight. Eat Esther.”

“You are an awful bossy nurse.” He smiled at her as their mostly alone time was over as the others had begun to come back upstairs.

Sidney was the first to observe the pair as they come up the steps. Obviously, things had worked themselves out. Charlotte too was relieved in seeing them as she worried, she herself had damaged their new friendship. A grumbling Crowe came up next then Suzie. Apparently, he had lost some sort of bet. 

“Are you always such a sore loser?” Suzie was berating him as they climbed up the stairs.

“I do believe you cheated.”

Suzie glanced over towards Esther and Charles. Yep, not a one-night stand. “What happened to you?” She asked Esther as she caught the bandage slightly peeping under her sleeve.

“Would you believe I ran into a bear?”

“No, you aren’t a good liar.” Charles laughed to himself. Something else they had in common as that was the same thing Tim had told him. They all grabbed something to drink and sat down at the table. “So, what happened?”

“Where is Tim?” Esther asked hoping to buy her some time.

“Apparently, he decided to go to bed early.” Esther wondered how Charles was taking Augusta’s new relationship. Charles reached under the table and gave her hand a squeeze.

“What did he tell you?”

“Other than one of the felons had been killed by gun fire and the other in custody, nothing.” Suzie looked at Esther skeptical.

Esther related the story of her part of the trail and becoming part of the situation. She left out the part where she had shot at both, possibly one fatally and the other one who at last was known to still be in critical condition. Either Tim did not see it, or he had chosen himself not to reveal it. Either way, she was not sure she was ready to face its aftermath.

Charles did not realize how much more serious the situation had been. She seemed rather calm about the ordeal but now he wondered if there was more that happened and that was why she had passed out. This time his hand instead of just squeezing hers, he interlaced his fingers for reassurance. He felt her slightly squeeze his fingers. 

“You think you will have to testify against the dirt bag that survived?” Suzie was the only one that was voicing concern about the fall out.

“I would assume so if he survived.” Charles shuddered as he recalled the guy yelling that he was going to get her when he got out. Charles looked over at Tanner, who as Charles was amused, was trying not to pay attention. He would need to make sure that guy never showed back up around Esther. He would need to coordinate some protection. Although, it would be easier if she were closer to him. Then, he would know she was safe. Crowe would be dying if he knew what Charles was thinking right now.

He never had women stay at his house and here he was moving her in, at least in his mind. Sidney had already moved in with Charlotte, so he already knew Sidney would just laugh at how fast things were moving. But would she even? She had talked about taking a job over in Charlotte. It was still a good three to four-hour drive. That would be a horrible work schedule, not to mention, would really cut into their time. Not to mention Aunt Sophia would probably disown her although technically they were already not related.

“Babington! Are you deaf?” Crowe was talking to him. He apparently had been consumed with his thoughts that he had not been paying any attention.

“I’m sorry, what?”

Sidney gave him a look that implied he knew what Charles had been thinking about.

“I said are we going home tomorrow?” Crowe asked again.

“I didn’t think that far ahead.”

“Well, I’m not in no hurry to go back to Charlotte.” Suzie mumbled. She was still very pissed that her supervisor had denied her taking extra time off, even when he knew it was because her friend was lost on the trail. She only got an extra week when Charles had called her commanding officer, who apparently was a relative of a good friend, Colonel Fitz as they called him in the squadron.

“Some reason you want to hang around in Wilmington, do you?” Crowe apparently was working on getting on improving his chances with her.

Suzie gave him a look as he was trying to charm her. “You are delusional Crowe.” Suzie rolled her eyes as she got up to get another beer.

“Oh, come on, you know you like me. You are just afraid to admit it.” 

“I think you are barking up the wrong tree Crowe,” Sidney quipped from the end of the table.

“I don’t recall saying I was wanting to go to Wilmington Crowe.” Suzie replied as she sat back down and looked at Esther. “What are you doing Esther?”

“Well, first I think I will go to bed. Ask me after I wake up. Although, I got to go to Maggie Valley about those photos and sign some paperwork at the police station in Gatlinburg before I do anything.”

“You can’t just email the photos?” Charlotte asked.

“I can, but apparently the client wants them to be personally signed as if it really mattered.” Esther yawned. “Now, I would love to stay up all night, but I think I rather be in bed.” 

“Somebody is turning back into a bear.” Suzie quipped.

She looked around. “I am. So, point me to my hibernation cave and I will try to be myself tomorrow.”

At this point, Augusta had come back downstairs. “Why didn’t anyone tell me you were here?” Esther found herself getting hugged rather aggressively. “Where are you going?”

Charles looked at his sister. “To bed, if you will let her out of your grip.” Augusta got slightly embarrassed at his tone. Esther could feel them all observe her as she went up to her room. 

Esther walked into her room and found her bag had been unpacked. She looked around and gathered her stuff for another shower. She amused herself as it had been a few days since she shaved, ‘Can’t have that if Charles was staying with her.’ She was not sure how long he was going to stay downstairs, so she quickly headed to her bathroom.

“How’s Tim?” Charles asked his sister, who flushed under his scrutiny.

“He says he will be good to go by the weekend. He’s looking forward to Myrtle.”

Charles had forgotten about this weekend slightly. He looked back at Sidney and Charlotte. This was a big weekend for them. 

“Myrtle?” Suzie asked.

Charlotte looked at her. “Sidney and I are going to Myrtle Beach for the holiday. His brother owns an amusement park.”

“That should be a good time.”

“Augusta and Tim are going too.” Charlotte’s enthusiasm for the trip was evident. “Why don’t you come Suzie?”

Suzie let out a laugh. “I don’t know about that.” Suzie was a little apprehensive.

Crowe took to the conversation like a duck to the water. “Don’t tell me the big bad weapons instructor is afraid of roller coasters.”

Suzie gave Crowe a glaring look. “I’m not afraid of roller coasters Crowe.” He raised his eyebrow at her.

“Are you trying to convince yourself of that?” He quipped back at her. Suzie got up, deposited her bottle in the recycle bin and decided she was off to bed herself downstairs.

“Well, Crowe, someone that seems immune to your wit and charm.” Sidney quipped at him.

“You can go to the devil Parker.”

Charlotte looked at Sidney as they all were laughing. She looked over at him and gave him a smile. He knew she would go upstairs and take a shower. He had time to spend with Babington and Crowe. He got up and got them all fresh beers. Augusta decided to go back to Tim’s room when Charlotte had mentioned going to bed.

Charles looked over at Tanner, who was still on the couch, looking tired. “Tanner, why don’t you take the middle bedroom on the second floor. I don’t think you need to hang out with us.” Charles about laughed as Tanner wasted no time going upstairs.

He found two sets of eyes looking at him. “What?”

“And just where are you sleeping?” Crowe wanted to know.

“Do you even need to ask Crowe?” Sidney laughed at his friend.

“You can both go to bloody hell.” He decided he had enough and decided to go take his room downstairs next to Suzie, mumbling as he went. Suzie was just being difficult. He did not know what her problem was. He never had met someone more of a conundrum. She had pretty much looked at him during the concert while she was singing, and she had been flirting with him prior. That was until he pissed her off when he said something derogatory about her friend. After that, she was as cold as ice. The worse thing about it, he found he was genuinely interested in her and he was at a loss of how to go about it.

“What are you going to do?” Sidney asked Charles as they were the last two still up.

“About what?”

“I could smell the smoke coming out of your ears the wheels were grinding so bad.”

“Very funny. I didn’t realize I committed some crime.” Charles let out his breath and looked at Sidney. “You didn’t hear that guy yelling about coming after Esther. He said some very unpleasant things.”

“Well, I’m sure he’ll be behind bars for some time.”

“Unless he gets out again,” Charles took a drink, “or he has some sort of friend that he can contact on the outside to get to her.”

Sidney looked at Charles. It was very apparent that Charles was extremely worried about Esther and the situation. “So, what are you thinking about doing?”

Charles looked at him and let out a sigh. “I was going to invite her to move in.” Sidney looked at his friend in disbelief before he laughed out loud.

“And you said I was moving quick with Charlotte.”

Charles looked at him and squinted his eyes. “You were until the little snafu.” Some of the exuberance drained from Sidney. “Just what did happen that night?”

Sidney took a long drink. “Well, I came home pretty intoxicated after a night with you and Crowe to find Eliza in my apartment.” Charles watched his friend. “Apparently, I had forgotten to change the locks. She was in my bed naked as a jaybird.” He let out a sigh. “I was in the process of telling her to leave when Charlotte came in. She took one look and I shall never forget the look on her face as she stormed out.”

“What happened then?”

“Well, I should not have driven, but I did. I left Eliza in the apartment and went after Charlotte. I sat on her porch the rest of the night after I gave up knocking on the door. I woke up and found her taking a suitcase to the car. The look of betrayal was more than I could bare. She told me she was going back home and to leave her alone. I spent months trying to win her back. Her father put me through some rigorous torture working around the farm.”

“You mean you went to her parent’s house for months?”

“Yes, they made me bunk up in the help. I had to learn the workings of the cattle farm. She refused to be in the same room with me. Do you know how much torture it is to see the woman you love for day after day only show contempt?” Sidney looked at him. “I hope you never have to Charles. I was about to give up hope. I went on a bull ride got injured. When I woke up, I found her sitting next to the bed crying. Then, we shared an apartment and I had to court her like we didn’t know each other.”

“Well, everything’s back on track now.”

Sidney smiled at him. “Thank the maker.” Sidney raised his eyebrow. “Didn’t take much on your part.”

Charles looked at him. “Well, she found me handcuffed to Jester’s police cruiser.” Sidney looked at him perplexed. “When we got there, I tried to storm off on the trail. Jester put me in the back seat until I calmed down. After that, I was let out again when I heard that they were getting into position and I set off again. Jester cuffed me to the handle and left me there until everyone returned. Then, I basically broke down telling her how I felt and begged for forgiveness.”

“A new experience for you.”

“Yes, well, one I hope I will not ever have to repeat.”

“I’ll drink to that.” Sidney lifted his bottle and finished his beer. “As much as I find your company stimulating Babington, I think I would rather be in my own bed.” Charles watched his friend retired to Charlotte’s room.


	39. Money Talks

Charles drank the rest of his beer hoping that Esther was asleep but wishing she were still up. He felt giddy as a young man. He lightly tapped on the door before walking in as not to disturb her if she was in fact sleeping. He found her standing at the dresser with shirt that barely hung passed her bum which was apparently naked. He forgot he told himself to behave as he crossed the room. “I thought you would be asleep by now.”

She smiled at him. “Still awake.” Yes, she was and apparently had not been out of the shower that long either. He could smell the mixture of vanilla and coconut as he got close.

“Do I need to wrap your arm?” The instructions from the nurse started firing through his mind.

“I think it will be alright for tonight.” 

He took a better look at it now that he knew he could touch her. “Does it hurt?”

She raised an eyebrow at him, “You have a treatment to take my mind off of it nurse?”

His eyes darted back to hers inquisitively. Did she know she was driving him to distraction? The anguish of the whole ordeal came back to him. He could have lost her just as quickly as he had found her. His emotions were running strong as he pushed her back against the closet door. He was still not sure he could tell her how much he loved her, but he could show her.

Charles looked at her as they faced each other. In a low tone, “Esther?” Between the trail excursion and the intense passion, Esther was struggling to stay awake.

She mumbled back, “hmm?” as her eyes were getting heavy as she looked at him.

He wanted to say it, it was on the tip of his tongue, but as he looked at her, he knew she would not even believe he said it as she was drifting into heavy sleep. He settled for a goofy smile at her instead. He whispered goodnight to her and pulled her closer.

Esther woke up with the daylight peeking through the curtains. Charles still had himself wrapped around her protectively. She was not sure if that to make sure she would not try to get up without him or just how he wanted to sleep. As much as she was wanting to stay in that position, her body was letting her know it was time to get up. She missed those days when she could go all day without having to run to the bathroom for hours. Now, after the military, her bladder like to remind her that she could no longer go than four hours.

Charles could feel her stirring and he wrapped his arms tighter and heard Esther let out a little giggle. “And just where do you think you are going?”

“Well, the bathroom unless you want me to pee the bed, if you must know.” He opened his eyes to look at her.

“Good morning.” He spoke lightly as he gave her a light kiss. He was slightly amused as she mumbled in protest since she had not brushed her teeth yet. “Neither have I,” was the reply as he gave her as he could feel his body began to stir for the morning. “You sure it’s not some other feeling as this moment?” he was still teasing her as his hand was sliding downward. He could get used to this real fast. No wonder Sidney was in a much better mood these days. Before she could fully protest, Esther found herself distracted as Charles was attacking her.

“You ready for your shower now?” Charles looked at her, her face flushed from this morning. “I think you’ve got some time to kill.” He chuckled at her expression.

“I can’t stay in bed all day.”

“You sure?” he asked as he kissed her lips. “I would be more than happy to.” 

She laughed at him. “Don’t you have a job, or did you get fired already?”

He took in a breath and smiled at her. “That is a great idea. I can get fired and then we can both just stay in bed all day.”

“You are incorrigible.”

“I thought you liked the old Charles.” He watched as she slipped her shirt over her head and head towards the bathroom. He let her have some time to herself. He looked at his phone. Sarah had cleared his schedule, but he did have a few meetings that he should take or arrange someone to fill in. He heard the shower running and let out a breath.

He called his dad. “Charles?”

“Hi dad.”

“Everything alright?”

He looked at the bathroom door and smiled. “Yeah, I was just wondering if I can ask a favor.”

“A favor. From your old decrepit old man?” He heard his father laugh on the other end. “This must be important.” He wanted a few days with Esther before asking her to move in.

“I have a few meetings that I need someone to cover for. Darcy should be able to get you up to speed enough for you to follow along.”

“You aren’t in some kind of trouble, are you?” His father’s tone was serious. His son loved his job and rarely took a break. There was a pause. “Charles?”

“Not that kind of trouble dad.” Charles heard the silence before his father erupted in the most unbridled laugh on the other end of the phone. “Is it really that funny?” He had mentioned to his father that he had hooked up with Esther before he left.

“No, I’m just surprised that is all.” Chester continued to laugh lightly. “Although, I am not. She seemed like a pretty decent girl the other night when she dropped you off. Any other woman, would have followed you upstairs even if you were passed out and in your parents’ house.” Charles was glad his father seemed amused by it all. “So, what you got planned or are you eloping in Vegas?”

“Nothing quite like that I assure you.” He was fairly sure Vegas was not on her bucket list. “Sidney and Charlotte are going to Myrtle Beach for the holiday. I thought maybe Esther would like to go.”

His father was done laughing at him. “Alright, you’ve twisted my arm. Have your secretary get a hold of Darcy and I will take care of it.” Chester decided to give him a little more harassment before he got off the phone with him. “You will invite us to the wedding, won’t you? Your mother would be terribly upset with you if she’s not part of it.” Charles let out a sigh. His mother would in doubt be planning the wedding of the century if she even heard his thoughts of just having Esther move in. Esther was no doubt making more strides in a few weeks, than his mother and her schemes could since he was eighteen. 

“Thanks dad.” He ended the call. Now, the question was, would Esther want to go or has it all been too much on her.

Esther came out of the bathroom all wrapped up in a robe. Charles set the phone down. “Did you save me any hot water, or do I have time to kill?” He smiled at her devilishly as he walked towards her.

“You are definitely incorrigible.” Esther smiled at him as he gave her a kiss. “Go take your shower.” She could not let him distract her from getting her job done. She quickly got dressed as she heard him in the shower. She let out a light laugh. Apparently, he liked to sing in the shower. Esther dug in her bag to get her camera out. It did not appear that they had brought her laptop.

Charles came out shortly dressed rather relaxed. Esther looked at him. “Don’t tell me you lost your suit.”

He chuckled at her. “No, I came prepared to go trekking in the woods remember. I have one with me though if you want me to help me dress.” 

“You are trying to distract me.”

“Is it working?” Esther let out a sigh.

“I have to go to Maggie Valley today. I told you, I can’t play all day.” Charles feigned being hurt.

“Fine, I suppose the others might be up now for breakfast.” They made their way downstairs and found Tanner already had the coffee pot going, although he was outside.

“I knew you had to have someone make your coffee.” She quipped at him.

“Not true. He just got up before me.” He smiled at her. He opened the refrigerator door. “Well, it looks like you have plenty to choose from.” Sidney and Charlotte were the first to come around.

Charlotte was smiling at them. Esther groaned inwardly wondering just how much they heard even being on the other side of Tanner. Esther glanced over to where he was standing. Poor guy, being caught in the middle of them and then whatever happened in Tim’s room last night. He probably needed some time off. “I can help cook.” Charlotte looked at Charles.

“Oh, no. Unless you all want burnt toast, you are going to need to find another assistant.” Esther looked at Charlotte.

“I think we can handle this. Out of the kitchen with you.” Esther shooed Charles and Sidney out. They went to go look outside. Esther and Charlotte decided on omelets and bacon with toast. Esther took to chopping the veggies while Charlotte started on the bacon.

“How are you feeling?” Charlotte asked her. “I mean from the trail.”

Esther chuckled at her. “Is that really what you want to ask?”

Charlotte blushed a little. “It’s just, well Sidney wasn’t sure if you and Charles would work things out.” Esther glanced over to the guys still on the deck.

“Contrary to what people think, I generally tend to forgive pretty quick, after I have a flare in my temper. I’m not one for conflict.” Esther looked over to Charlotte, “except I do draw the line at cheating. I’ve been through that and I’m not going to put myself in that position ever again.” Esther noticed Charlotte’s mood slightly shift. “What was that look for?” Esther did not plan on hitting a nerve but apparently it did. “Charlotte?”

Charlotte glanced over at Sidney to make sure he was still out of ear shot. She spoke quietly to her. “Last year, Sidney and I went through a rough patch. It’s been a little hard not thinking about it at times.”

“I’m sorry. Maybe you would like to talk about it sometime?” Charlotte looked at Esther. “Sometimes, it’s easier to talk to someone that has been through the same experience.” 

Esther closed her eyes. She was becoming more like Dr. Middleton every day. It was what he had told her when he suggested some different type of counseling specifically for military members instead of the typical AA group. 

Charlotte gave her a friendly smile. “I don’t know when we could without Sidney and Charles being around.” 

Esther smiled at her. “Oh, leave that to me. Would it be alright if I invite Augusta and Suzie, not for our talk, but it will make the sell a little easier?” Charlotte looked at her. A lady’s day. That would be remarkably interesting as she had not had one in a long time. 

“Do you think we could?”

“Haven’t you ever heard that absence makes the heart grow fonder?” Charlotte laughed at her new friend. She was so much better than Caroline. Esther gave her a quick wink. “It also has another affect if you know what I mean.” Esther chuckled as Sidney and Charles had come back in.

“What’s so funny?” Sidney was asking Charlotte.

“That’s classified Sidney. You’ll have to have a background check before the information can be released.’ Esther quipped at him.

Sidney looked at Charles. “You had to find one that was going to be difficult, didn’t you?” Charles laughed and smiled back at Sidney.

“I think she’s just getting started Sidney.” Tim and Augusta finally came trampling down the steps. “Oh, finally able to drag yourself out of bed?” Charles was looking at his sister. 

This was going to be a huge let down for her if it did not work out. He was fairly sure Tim was her first.

Tim looked over at Esther with an inquisitive look. She knew he was wondering what she told them last night. “Augusta, do you think you can help Charlotte for a minute? I need to download these photos on Tim’s computer so I can send them off to the printer.”

“Sure, just tell me what to do.” Esther grabbed the camera and removed the memory card as she followed Tim to his office. 

Sidney looked over at Charles to gage his reaction. Charles was still grinning like a fool. “You are lost.”

“I know.” Charles looked over to Augusta who had been watching him as she finished chopping the veggies. He gave her a smile.

Augusta in all her years of watching her brother with his dates had not ever seen him look so happy. Apparently, they had definitely been hooking up more than she thought. No wonder he was in such a state when no one knew what happened to her. Tim, even though he had been in her bed, was still very gentlemanly. He would bundle her up and just hold her. Even when she came to bed the other night naked, he refused muttering something about not wanting to rush her. It figured the one time she was ready to, the guy was playing hard to get.

Suzie came strolling upstairs. “Good, someone made coffee.”

“Tanner did so if it’s too strong blame him.” 

“Who is Tanner?”

Charles pointed to the guy on the deck. Suzie looked at him. He looked like he had spent some time in the service. She poured her a cup and went outside. “So, you are Tanner?”

“I am.” He was a nice-looking clean-cut type of guy.

“I would wager you spent some time in the service.”

“Yes.”

“And now you are a driver for Babington?”

“Perceptive.”

Suzie laughed at him. “Yeah, you guys are all the same.” Tanner found him being studied. “I would wager some sort of infantry unit, maybe even a tactical specialty. Seen some action, decided to get out, hates the typical nine to five type of job, managed to make connection to something that allows you to still keep up your killer skills, pays decent and still allows you to travel.”

Crowe came to an abrupt stop when he saw Suzie outside with Tanner and they were both laughing. He did not know stone face ever broke a smile. Crowe looked over at Charles. 

“Your guy forget his job?” He said gruffly. 

Charles looked over to see what Crowe was talking about. “Don’t tell me you are jealous.” Crowe glared his eyes at him. “Oh, still not having any luck I see. Maybe, it’s a lost cause.”

“Maybe he doesn’t know what he is doing.” Esther quipped as she came back out of the office.

Crowe looked at all of them. “Screw all of you.” He took his coffee and went back downstairs.

Esther looked over at Suzie. Suzie made conversation with men without any effort. Probably because she is around so many with her job. She had to learn to adapt in that type of environment. Tanner was a nice-looking guy and would be typically someone she would hook up with. But she knew Suzie was getting tired of that dorm life. She was looking for something a little better than that. She was not looking for someone to give her a whirlwind romance with flowers and chocolate. She wanted something realistic. Esther was a little surprised when she had asked her about Crowe when they were at the ice cream shop before their show. Esther though did not have any good information for her.

They all sat down to eat minus Crowe, who had retreated downstairs. Breakfast over and the kitchen put back in order, Tim and Sidney had gone outside.

Esther went back to her room to get her id out of her bag. She would need to go home to get her other debit cards. She was literally walking around broke. Charles came up behind her. “Leaving so soon?”

Esther looked at him. “Unfortunately, whoever is picking up the photos will be there shortly, and I’ve got to have them all signed or forfeit my commission.”

“And just how are you going to get there?”

“Hitchhike.”

“Hitchhike?” He smirked at her.

“Yeah, although Tim should have an extra vehicle around here.”

“You want some company?”

“It will be more of a waste of time. It will take me longer to get there and back than to actually sign the prints.”

“Tired of me already?” Esther looked at him.

“Not at all. Besides, I can’t see you riding on a motorcycle.”

“It’s a motorcycle?” Esther smiled at him. “You are seriously not going to go on a motorcycle to Maggie Valley.”

“Oh, you are being awful bossy again. You could have Tanner take me. I’m sure he’s ridden before.”

“Absolutely not. You are not going on a motorcycle with Tanner.” He did not like the thought of her having her arms wrapped around another guy.

“Oh, so you need your driver for today?”

Charles looked at her. “Why do I get the feeling you are trying to steal my driver for some ulterior motive?” 

Esther smiled sweetly at him. “Well, you know, the poor guy slaves away driving for you day in, day out. I just thought he use a refreshing point of view.” Charles raised his eyebrow. “Besides, Suzie is kind of sweet on the guy.”

“Suzie?”

“Yeah, I mean I know Crowe is chasing Suzie, but I just don’t if he realizes it.”

“Oh, so now you are trying to play match maker.” Charles was finding the situation humorous. “I suppose I am to get you a car as well?”

Esther smiled at him. “Well, I didn’t take my plastic with me on the trail.”

“You are racking up a bill.”

“Maybe I can barter for something?” Charles found Esther eyeing him seductively and he found it very stimulating. She was going to be able to talk him into anything. He wondered if she knew it. She kept her gaze on him as she approached him. “I’m more than willing to work out a payment plan.” He chuckled at her brazenness.

Charles came bounding down the stairs a little later. He found Tanner still on the deck.

“Tanner, got a job for you.” Tanner looked at Charles. He had wondered when they would be heading back. “I need you to go get a car for the ladies and drive them to Maggie Valley.” Tanner looked at Charles. He had not expected this.

Tim looked at Sidney and Crowe who were sitting on the couch. “What in blazes is going on?” Crowe had finally rejoined them but was still in a foul mood.

“Charles is wanting to go get a few things in town. I believe he’s thinking about going to Myrtle Beach.” Sidney replied to him. “The ladies are off to do their own thing with Esther since she has another errand to do.”

Crowe rolled his eyes. “So, it’s a guy’s thing today.”

“Well, yes unless you have somewhere else you need to be.” He did not, but he was not going to let them know all that. He looked over at Tanner. “How about a game of paintball?” He was quite sure he could square up with Tanner. Suzie enjoyed someone who could play. Would not she be surprised to find Tanner could not keep up with him, especially since he was sober.

Sidney was chuckling on the inside. Crowe was trying his best to prove a point and not even realize it yet. “So, a guy’s game of paintball. Maybe lunch and whatever seems to be on the agenda.”

Tim looked at them. “I can drive.” 

Charles came into the tail end of that conversation. “You have a vehicle here that’s not a motorcycle?”

“Motorcycle?” Tim looked at him perplexed before glancing over at Esther. “Well, to be fair, I just recently acquired another truck. Should be roomy enough for us.” Esther was glad Tim covered for her. The guys got ready to depart. Esther went to put her camera back upstairs and grab her pack. Charles followed her upstairs.

Charles looked at Esther. “I do believe you owe me some more on your bill.”

“Whatever do you mean? I had no idea he had another truck here.” 

Charles squinted at her and kiss her. “I still don’t believe you. Do not worry about anything. Taylor can cover it.”

“Taylor can cover it?” She asked looking at him.

“Yeah, you said you left your cards at home.”

“I did.”

“Well, I’m just saying you don’t need to worry about running home.”

“I’m not a charity case. I do have my own money.”

“Well, I’m telling you not to worry about it.” He could tell this was going to be a subject of conjecture. She was not going to have near the amount of money as he did. “Besides, I want you back to pay up Miss Denham.” He teased her.

“Charles.” The pissing contest had begun.

“Esther.” He furled his eyebrows at her. “Really, I can afford it.”

“That’s not the point.”

“Then what is?” He studied her, maybe he was pushing too fast or was she insecure? He lowered his voice and soften the tone to reassure her, “Esther, I’m not going anywhere. Well, maybe to Myrtle Beach if you want to go.”

Esther was surprised at that suggestion and he was glad. She had no expectations, which made the suggestion even more enjoyable. “Don’t you need to get back to work?”

He smiled at her. “I told you. I am the boss. I make the schedule. Besides, I really have not had a vacation for a few years. Unless, you would rather go back to the condo, but I’m really not ready to return to reality just yet.” ‘Yet’ being the operative word. He wanted to make sure she was comfortable being around him to the point she did not want to be without him. He needed to build her up from her insecurities.

“I’m not sure I have enough here,” she started to object again.

He smiled at her, “Then, go shopping while you are out with the girls.”

“I believe you are trying to pad my bill.”

He leaned into her, “you better believe it.” He worked her all up, laughed and walked away. “I am looking forward to your next payment Miss Denham.” Esther stood there flustered from the moment. Charles Babington was turning into quite the character. Esther straighten up her clothes and hair before she went back downstairs. She found the guys had already left but their ride would be back in a half hour for pick up.


	40. Ladies Day

Tanner hopped out of the truck as soon as Tim had barely put the truck in park. Charles and Tanner quickly went into the rental place and off Tanner went.

Charles got back in the truck. “Alright, ready to go.”

Crowe looked at Sidney then over to Charles. “Where is Tanner going?”

Charles looked at him. “Tanner?”

“Yeah, your driver.”

“Oh, I sent him with Esther and the other ladies. He seemed like he needed a break.”

“But that’s his job.”

Charles smiled at him. “I do let my people have some time off. I am not the slave driver you think I am. Why is there some reason you care?”

Crowe glared at him and Sidney while mumbling obscenities to them. 

It had been a long time since he went on vacation and he glanced at Sidney when it came to suggestions for his clothes, since he was not home to let his personal assistant take care of it. Tim and Crowe critiqued everything and harassed the devil out of him.

After a good couple hour of torture, they ended up at the Wild Bear, with Charles suggestion. Clara spotted him right away. “Charles Babington, whatever are you doing back here?” Clara was roaming over his friends.

“Clara Brereton, this is Sidney, Crowe and Tim.” She led them over to one of her tables.

“Tim, you look familiar.”

Tim let out a breath. Good lord, his past was upon him. “I haven’t been here for a while.” Clara shook it off and went to go get their drinks. Maybe Charles would give her another large tip. Crowe watched her from his chair.

“Charles, I believe you are holding out on us.” Crowe remarked as Clara was looking back at them.

Charles let out a breath. “She is engaged to Esther’s stepbrother.”

“Are you sure?” Crowe asked as she was looking seductively at him.

“Yes, unless she changed her mind.” Clara came back and sure enough as Esther predicted, she was very flirtatious with them, especially him. Great, if Esther finds out it will be the gallows for him. She came back and Charles could tell there was a suggestive look there. “I don’t suppose you are seeing Edward anytime soon?”

He put her back down. She pursed her lips. “Tonight, Aunt Sophia has requested our presence.”

“Isn’t that a good thing?”

Clara let out a breath. “I don’t particularly need her running my life. I can manage simply fine without the interference. She seems to think that she should be running my wedding preparations.”

“Wedding?” Crowe asked. Her eyes now returned to their playful look as she looked at Crowe.

“I’m getting married later this year to Edward Denham.” Clara looked over back at Charles. “I’m surprised to see you back in town. Do you have any more business with Sophia?”

Charles looked at her. Not business per say, but maybe some personal business in the future he mused silently. “Not at this time.”

Clara looked at him and studied him. Apparently, the thing with Esther had just been a fling. “Hey Clara!” Clara turned to look to see her manager waiving her over to another table.

“I’ll be back.” Clara walked off.

“I don’t know but I get the feeling this Edward guy must not be very good.” Crowe remarked out loud. 

Tim looked at them. “He’s good, he’s just doesn’t like being tied down. Has a girl in about every town? Clara is just the only one that puts up with it.” Charles looked at him. “He makes pretty good money working at Viola Enterprises in Charlotte.”

“I hope he’s not in charge, otherwise it will end up like Denham Holdings.” Charles remarked.

“He’s not which is why he’s been trying to find another job.” Tim replied.

As Esther walked down the stairs, her phone rang. “Hello?”

“Esther?”

“This is her”

“Esther, this is Jenkins.”

Esther let out a silent sigh. “What can I do for you Jenkins?”

“Well, since the death of Uncle Jack, the business is going to need to do some reshuffling of personnel. I am going to need someone to handle CFO duties for the time being.”

The other girls were looking at her as she spoke on the phone. “I’m not sure I’m qualified for that.”

Jenkins let out a sigh. “I know it’s a big responsibility, but you know Uncle Jack had always intended on you to take over as CFO. You have plenty of experience in accounting.   
Besides, you will have a bunch of minions working for you. Even if you do not want to do it permanently, I could use someone that is at least familiar with the business for the interim.”

Esther took a deep breath. It would look good for her resume. “How long would you need me in Charlotte?”

Jenkins was smiling at her through the phone. “Maybe three or four months top, unless you decide to stay.”

“I’ll come by next week and talk to you in person.”

“Very good. Just let Wyatt know so he can plan. Bye Esther.”

“Bye Jenkins.”

Suzie looked at her. “So, you are coming to Charlotte next week?” Esther looked at her.

“It would appear I might be there for a few months.” Esther looked at the confused expression on Augusta and Charlotte’s face. “Uncle Jack had a business out there. With his death, they need someone with history to look at the books.”

“I thought Uncle Jack worked for the courthouse?” Augusta asked her.

Esther laughed. “He did after he stepped down from his business that he started when he retired out of the military. Uncle Jack wasn’t one to sit around and be idle.”

Tanner walked in. “Well, ladies are you ready?” The ladies gathered their belongings to start their day. Tanner opened the door while they all piled into the large extended SUV. 

“Where to first?”

“Maggie Valley, the gallery is on the main drag.” She passed him the information for the actual address.

Suzie and Esther looked around inside the SUV to which Charlotte and Augusta laughed. “First time?” Augusta asked them.

Esther laughed, but Suzie replied for them, “Yes.” 

Esther texted Charles. “Getting the largest vehicle to pad my bill further?” Charles sent her a wink and smiley face emoji.

“I don’t suppose we have a little time to shop in Gatlinburg first?” Augusta asked. “I saw a couple of shops that I wanted to go into, but not with Charles.” 

Esther looked at her. “And why not?” Augusta got embarrassed. “I, I um, just don’t think it’s appropriate to take my brother into the undergarment store.” The other ladies laughed at her expense. 

Esther looked at her watch. There was time. “Tanner, there will be an open parking lot in Gatlinburg that you will see across from the aquarium. Pull in over there. Miss Augusta needs to go shopping first.” Tanner just nodded his head.

They spent a couple of hours walking around going into various stores on the main drag. Augusta glanced over at Esther as they put the bags into the SUV. “I don’t suppose Tanner could not follow us to the next store?” She whispered to her.

Esther realized the last thing Augusta really wanted was Charles’ driver to follow into such a personal store. She smiled at Augusta. “Tanner?”

“Miss Denham?”

“Why don’t you go grab some lunch? I am sure I will not need you for a bit. We can just meet you back here in an hour.” He gave her a perplex look as he knew she was not carrying any cash. “It’s fine. Really, if I find something Suzie can spot me.” He smiled as he had wanted to check out a local brewery they walked by.

“Here’s my cell in case you need me.” Tanner gave Esther his number and walked away.

Suzie looked at her. “Sure, I spend a night flirting with the guy, and you are the one that gets his number.” Esther laughed at her.

“I thought you liked Crowe.”

Suzie smiled at her. “I’m a free bird.” She held up her left hand. “I date whoever I want to.” Suzie laughed at her. “Besides, we both know nothing is really going to happen with either of them. One is chained to his boss and the other is playing the field.” Suzie linked her arm with Esther. “Now, what we need to discuss is the trouble we are going to get in when you come to Charlotte.” Esther laughed as they walked into the store.

This store sat just off the main drag and was for the newlyweds that came into town for their wedding or honeymoon. A nice-looking woman approached the group. “Welcome to the Lingerie Boutique.” They all gave her a smile. “Is there something special event I can help you find something for?” They all laughed.

Suzie looked at the ladies’ name tag. “Heather, my friends are going on vacation to Myrtle Beach.” She looked at them and gave them a wink. “They all need something special for their beaus.” Heather smiled and let out a happy laugh. She worked on commission and it was apparent, that a couple of them spent money well as she looked them over.

“Well, I have this room over here if you would like to take a chair. I can have the models come out and give a little fashion show of some of our more popular items.” Heather led them into a private room. Esther just shook her head at Suzie. They did as they were told. “Would you like something to drink while they get ready? I have water and pop.” They all took water as they sat down.

A few minutes later, the assistants came walking down the mock runway wearing very little another assistant described the material on the outfits, or what it should have if it had more material to be considered to be an outfit, Esther mused. Heather took some notes as Augusta made comments on the outfits. Esther looked at Suzie and raised her eyebrow. Apparently, Suzie had been giving her some seduction tips. Suzie just shrugged her shoulders as she smiled back at her.

The ladies continued to look throughout the store and Esther found herself separated from them as she looked some baby doll outfits. “Oh, that one is exquisite.” Heather walked up to her. “I just got that one in.”

“It is very nice.”

“Would your beau not like it?” Esther looked at Heather. She wanted to tell the lady it was a little late to be making first impressions on Charles but she got the feeling the lady was   
so friendly and polite, she didn’t want to quip at her, ‘As if it would stay on long enough to make an impression.’

“Oh, I’m sure he would.” Esther took the material back through her fingers. He had invited her to go, the least she could do is make him happy. “Very well, Heather.” Heather let out a little glee. The shop owner gave out special incentives on newer items. “I don’t suppose you have any swimwear in here?”

“We do. It is upstairs if you would like to go look. I can let the others know for you.” Heather took the baby doll lingerie and went to find them.

Esther looked around at the different swimwear. Suzie found her. “You aren’t going to get that one, are you?” Esther was looking at a one piece.

Esther looked at her, “what’s wrong with it?”

Suzie gave her a stern look. “Come on, it screams I’m not interested.” Esther laughed at her. “You need something more like this.” Suzie held out a very skimpy string bikini.

“Suzie, you forget I tend to burn quickly.”

Suzie smiled at her. “Not if you are constantly getting sun block liberally applied.” Suzie gave her a wink and Esther just let out a chuckle.

Esther let out a silent breath. Suzie picked out a couple for recommendations and had the other two ladies weigh in with their opinions. Charlotte’s pick was chosen as the winner.   
A bikini with a twisted top that hung off the shoulders. It also had a matching halter tankini that Esther bought as well that went with a pair of short boy shorts. It would be a miracle if she did not end up roasted by the time Monday rolled around.

Augusta was the first to check out. Heather looked at the name of the card. “Oh, are you related to Charles?” Augusta looked at her.

“I’m his sister, why?”

Heather slightly flushed. “Oh, well, I just follow the celebrity news. I saw a picture with him and Miss Bingley.” Augusta looked over to Esther who was not paying attention as her and Suzie were in deep conversation looking at some other stuff.

“Old news.”

Heather leaned in and whispered, “Is he dating someone?” Heather caught Augusta looking over towards Esther, Charlotte and Suzie. “Really?” Heather wondered which one. “I don’t suppose you’ll tell me which one?”

“Which one what?” Suzie spoke as they walked up to the register. Heather snapped back a little. She was going to drop it, but then the other assistant ratted her out.

“Which one of you is dating Charles Babington?” Unfortunately, Esther gave herself away when she got flushed. “Oh!” Heather reappraised her opinion of Esther. At first glance, the lady was pretty, but she was not dressed like someone who was dating North Carolina’s most eligible bachelor.

“What does that mean?” Suzie quipped at her.

“Suzie, drop it. Let us just pay for the stuff and go. I need to get to Maggie Valley.” They walked out of the store all satisfied, except for Suzie.

“I can’t believe you didn’t say anything.” Suzie spoke to Esther as they walked together towards the SUV.

“And just what was I supposed to say?”

“I don’t know. Maybe something like, yes I am and it’s none of your damn business.” Esther laughed at her.

“Well, I’m not like you.”

“I know. You are too nice. Sometime though, you are going to need to be more like me.”

“Why?”

Suzie looked at her. “Are you serious? Have you been living under a rock?” 

Esther stopped her. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, you are dating a successful guy. Once it gets out, you are going to be getting a lot of publicity.”

Esther laughed. “Well, I’ll cross that bridge if I ever get to it. Right now, I am obtuse. Besides, it is not like we have really been seen together, other than Airlie Gardens last week.”

“Well, I’m just saying, you better get prepared, so you don’t get spooked.”

“Yes ma’am!” Esther gave her a mock salute.

“Very funny.” Suzie quipped as they caught back up. 

Tanner put the bags in the back. “Maggie Valley?”

Suzie smiled at him, “Yes, sir and double time!” Tanner could only laugh at them.

“Can we eat at Pops again?” Augusta looked over at Esther. “I really liked that place.”

“I don’t see why not. It is not far from the gallery. It will probably be busy if you do not mind the wait. I can have Tanner drop you off, run to the gallery and by the time I get back, we should be able to get seated.” Esther looked at them. “I’m mean you are all pretty tied to your phones so it’s not like you can’t kill some time.”

“Esther?” Charlotte looked at her. “Can I go with you?” 

Esther looked at her. “Sure.” Maybe Charlotte wanted to talk about Sidney. Tanner dropped Augusta and Suzie off, then continued to the gallery.

The black SUV pulled up. Tanner got out and quickly opened the door for them. “I really shouldn’t be long.”

Tanner smiled at her. “No problem Miss Denham.”

Esther looked at Charlotte who was looking around. There was a small garden out back. “It’s very pretty here.”

“It is. I would not mind living around here although it really does not have a whole lot. It is growing though.”

Unknown to them, they were being watched by several pair of eyes as soon as their SUV pulled up.

“Caroline, isn’t that Charles’ driver?” Eliza looked at her friend. “What was his name?”

Caroline let out a huff. “Like I remember all their names, Eliza. Who is that with Charlotte?”

Eliza shrugged her shoulders. “I have no idea, but the better question is where is Charles.” They studied the pair of them as they walked through the gardens.

“Have you ever taken photos here?” Charlotte asked her.

“Oh, a few, but up until this commission, I primarily did photos from overseas on my internship.” They sat down on a bench in the gazebo. Esther studied her. “Now, what seems to be bothering you?”

“Well, I feel kind of silly about it.”

“Nonsense, if its’ still bothering you, then there is something still on your mind.” Charlotte explained what happened with Georgianna and how it caused a huge fight with Sidney. Then, how he showed up after drinking. 

Esther looked at her as there was still something that Charlotte had not told her yet. “So, you are worried that something did happen even though Sidney says it didn’t?”

“If you see her, you will know what I mean. She is beautiful, owns her own interior design business and has lots of money. Plus, they were engaged before.”

“So, why did it not work out before?”

“She had just graduated college and she wanted to open her own business right away. She did not have the funds and neither did Sidney. He told her it would have to wait. She met some other business guy that had money, they got involved. Sidney found out, broke it off and Eliza married Mr. Campion.”

“Campion, as in Campion Design Studio?” Esther looked at her perplexed.

“Yes, how did you know that?”

Esther had a sick feeling in her stomach. “Charlotte, I don’t know how to say this but when I met Charles, I had taken a commission job for the photos.”

Charlotte looked at her. “Yes, I know.”

“No, you don’t understand. It’s for that design firm.” Esther studied her friend. “I had no idea.”

Charlotte looked a little pale. “No, how would you?” Charlotte’s eyes darted to the building and around the parking lot. “Is she here?”

Esther looked at Charlotte, shrugged her shoulders, “I have no idea. Come let us get you back with Tanner.” Esther started walking with Charlotte when Mr. Gregory opened the back French doors.

“Ah, Miss Denham! So, nice of you to show up. Your appointment is here, and you are running late.” Esther gave the man a slight glare as Tanner opened the door to the SUV.

“I’ll be back.” Esther glanced at Tanner before walking back into the gallery.

Esther walked back into the meeting room. Mr. Gregory was making a fuss over the two ladies about coffee. Esther made an abrupt stop when she spotted Caroline.

“Ah, Miss Denham. Please, come in and finish up with the signatures and contract.” Esther walked slowly into the room. “This is Mrs. Eliza Campion, owner of Campion Design Studio” he pointed to a well-dressed blonde and “and her friend, Miss Bingley.”

Caroline recognized her immediately. “I see Charles must have spoken to you about your wardrobe choices. Although, I am not sure why his secretary is out driving around in town, unless he’s here.”

Eliza looked at her. “I can only think of one reason.” The remark hit its target as Esther knew exactly what she was implying, “although, I see his standards must have dropped significantly.” Eliza let out a mean laugh to which Caroline laughed with her.

Mr. Gregory was at a lost about what was going on. “Miss Denham, all I need you to do is sign this contract, then the original photos and you can get paid.” Esther looked at the ladies then back to Mr. Gregory.

“No.”

Mr. Gregory snapped in shock. “No? You realize this contract gives you an exclusive contract with one of the area’s largest design firms?” He looked over to Eliza. “Not to mention, the income.”

Esther smiled hauntingly at them. “It appears that I was unaware of who I was working for.”

Eliza was upset. These photos were going into a design show for a new cabin developer in Gatlinburg tonight. “You realize the prestige my company can give you. It will make you a household name.”

“Then, I guess I will just have to rely on my notoriety of dating North Carolina’s most successful bachelor to do that for me.” Esther gave them a glaring smile.

Eliza looked over at Caroline. “As if,” Caroline started in a disparaging tone, “look at you. Do you really think that you can hold that man’s attention? He is only using you. Why would he want a washed out, plain jane photographer when he can someone like me?” Caroline smiled triumphantly towards her. “I’ve been in fashion magazines while you were still wearing training bras. I have been in all the top four fashion weeks, from New York, London, Paris and Milan. I make more money in an hour than you do in a month easy.” 

Caroline squinted her eyes at her.

Esther took a deep breath. “Well, I believe our business is concluded.” She picked up her photos and the paperwork and deposited them in the shredder in front of them. She gave them a glare as she walked out the door.

Eliza chased after her. “You can’t do that.”

“I believe I just did Mrs. Campion. As I have neither signed the release or the photos, I can pretty much do what I please.” She stopped to look at her. “And if you,” she stepped back towards her, “think of doing it illegally, I will bury you in so much legal paperwork, you will be lucky to ever get another design job in the state.” Esther turned, in true military fashion, and walked out.

Tanner opened the door as soon as he saw her striding towards the SUV. He could tell something was bothering her as he closed the door. He caught the sight of the two ladies as they walked out the door while he was getting back in the driver seat. He recognized both instantly and let out a breath.

Esther looked at Charlotte. “Well, I have to say that went better than I thought.” She let out a little laugh. Charlotte gave her an inquisitive look. “I refused to sign the release and the photos. She’ll have to go with something else for her design.”

“But Esther,” Charlotte started to object.

Esther put up her hand and gave Charlotte a smile, “they are my photos and I’m not about to hand them over to a snake.”

“But the money,” Charlotte could only imagine how much she would have made.

Esther shrugged her shoulders. “I’m not dissolute Charlotte. I mean, I am now since I do not have my debit cards on me, but I can afford it. Besides,” she smiled at Charlotte,   
“Aunt Sophia likes me better. I’m not about to go without a meal or a warm bed.”

Charlotte smiled at her. “I wish I would have had a picture of her face when you told her no.”

Esther laughed. “Oh! It would have been a priceless one, especially when I put everything in the shredder.” Charlotte laughed with her.

Tanner arrived at Pops and let them out. They arrived just in time as Kitty Bennett was leading them to a table.

“Hello Kitty.” Esther greeted her as she sat down.

“Hello Esther. No Tim today?”

“He’s at home with,” Esther looked at the rest of them, “some friends.”

Kitty let out a breath. “Do you know if he’ll be in town for the fireworks?”

Esther smiled politely at her. “I believe Tim will be with his girlfriend in Myrtle Beach for the holiday.” Esther gave Augusta a wink.

“Oh!” Kitty looked over at Augusta. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”

Augusta smiled politely at her. “It’s a new development, no worries.” The ladies looked over the menu and ordered their lunch.

Charles looked at his watch. Esther should be done at the gallery by now. He wondered why he did not get a text. He took out his phone to send her one when one came in from Tanner.

“Mrs. Campion and Miss Bingley at gallery.”

Charles let out a groan that caught the others attention.

“Don’t tell me they got lost?” Sidney asked.

“No, but apparently Eliza and Caroline are in town.”

Tim looked at them. “Who is Eliza and Caroline?”

Crowe looked at him. “Eliza is Sidney’s ex-fiancée and Caroline was Charles’ old girlfriend.”

Tim looked at them. “So, they are texting you?” Esther would not be happy to find out Charles was still texting an old flame after Peter.

“No, it was from Tanner. He saw them as Esther was leaving the gallery.” Charles replied.

“Well, then most likely she wouldn’t know them.” Crowe replied.

“Except Esther seen a photo of Caroline with Charles.” Sidney spoke gently.

“And ran into her when she was dropping off photos my office.” Charles ran his hand through his hair.

“Still though, pretty unlikely they interacted.”

“Well, I’m sure we will find out tonight if they are talking to us.” Sidney looked at Charles. Sidney knew Eliza was still a sore subject between them, especially since his company still conducted business with the design firm. Charles was not so sure even though Otis may have champion him the night of the art show, he knew Esther was still insecure of his true affections. He needed some air.

“I’m going to step out for a minute to get some air. I’ll be right back.” He knew he confused his friends, but he needed a quiet moment. He had wanted to talk to Esther after the weekend in Myrtle Beach, but with Caroline’s appearance, he was not sure waiting was such a grand idea. He looked around. The Wild Bear was near a strip mall. He walked down the overhang to think about what he should do.

Crowe looked at Sidney, “What was that all about?”

Sidney smiled at Crowe and Tim.

“Good grief. How in the world did he get sunk already?” Crowe commented as Clara walked up.

“Who got sunk?” she asked looking towards Tim, who she remembered was Esther’s friend that she had hooked up with before she had gone after Edward.

“Charles.” Tim responded. Clara gave him a confused look. “He has a thing for Esther.”

Clara laughed, “What? You have to be joking.”

Sidney looked at her. “Why do you say that?”

Clara looked at them, “no offense, but does she really look like his type?” Clara walked off to get their food.

Charles tried to distract himself as he looked in the windows of the stores as he walked. Several times he almost called her but decided it would be better in person to talk. She had to know that there was nothing going on with Caroline. It was pure coincidence that she was in the area. He took a deep breath when his phone went off and it startled him.

It was from Esther. They had one more stop to make in Gatlinburg before they would be back. He let out his breath. She seemed to still be talking to him. As he turned, his eye caught something in the window of the last store. He found himself looking in the window of a jewelry store. This is getting ridiculous he thought. He barely knew her although he knew as he thought it, it did not matter. Two weeks. Two weeks and he was falling all over himself about her. His father, he knew, already could tell she had been different than anyone else. Well, to be truthful, he never discussed anyone he dated with them. Except Esther. He had spoken to both his mother and father about her.

Crowe looked at Sidney. “She’s not.”

Sidney let out a laugh, “Not in the least which would explain his fascination with her.” He was in a similar boat with Charlotte. She was not the least of his type, but he would not change it for the world. He was beyond happy with her, even with their disagreements.

Clara dropped off the food and wandered back to her other tables. Crowe texted Charles to let him know that the food was there.

Charles showed back up shortly. “Good, I’m starving.” He looked at them. “Esther says they have one more stop in Gatlinburg and then they will be back.”

Tanner pulled into the police department. Esther had jumped out before he had a chance to get out and open her door. Of all the things today, this one made her the most nervous. She knew she shot clearly in self-defense but that did not mean she was not going to get into any trouble for it. She just hoped Jester’s pull would keep her out of any harm.

The desk officer recognized her as soon as she walked in. “Miss Denham, Officer Jester and Detective Hollings are waiting for you.” Esther took a deep breath as she walked to Jester’s office. At least she was not been escorted to an interrogation room, yet anyway.

Detective Hollings was a younger man. He gazed over her as she sat down. “I have the preliminary report completed. I need you to review this and make sure of its accuracy.” He handed her some paperwork. Esther slightly trembled as she was reading it. She had managed not to think of it the entire day and was hoping not to have to think over it as well.  
Esther looked up at Jester. “What happens after I this?”

“There is still the ballistic report. Once that is completed, the prosecutor will request the court to set up a trial date, unless he takes a plea bargain.”

“Will I need to be here for that?”

“No, unless the other lady and you don’t agree to the plea agreement and it goes to court.”

Esther could feel her mouth getting dry. She hoped she would not have to go to court.

“It will probably be a few months at least.”

“How much time is he looking at?” The next question in her mind was how long before he could get out and track her down. “Does my name remain anonymous?”

“You are not a minor, so no unless you were a victim of sexual assault.” Thank the maker she did not have that. She noticed the detective was looking at her scar. “Is that from the knife?”

She looked at him. “Yes.”

“You should probably keep that wrapped better for a few more days to prevent an infection.” Esther wanted to roll her eyes. She knew how to take care of a wound. “If its intent to kill, he would get more time, although the prosecutor doesn’t know if he has enough for that.” 

She was about to object, but Jester interrupted. “Esther, this is just the beginning of the ordeal.” He could drop dead and it would make it even better, was what she thought.

“How is the other woman doing?” Esther felt sorry she had not thought about the woman but realistically she was just trying to not think about it herself

“She’ll be in treatment for a while, but she’s a survivor.” Esther let out a breath. She hoped the lady was doing alright but no telling what she had to endure compared to her.

“Detective, can I have a moment with my cousin?” Hollings closed the door. Jester looked at her. “How are you really?” She looked up at him trying not to get visibly upset. “I would tell you to make an appointment with Dr. Middleton, but I figured you already had thought of that. You can’t pretend it didn’t happen.”

“I don’t feel like it did.”

“Esther, you possibly killed one guy and almost killed the other. Even we would be required to see a professional after such an event. You cannot just bury your head in the sand with this. Better to be proactive instead of reactive to the situation. I understand it was justifiable, but it is still something you will need to address. What about Charles?”

Esther looked at him. “What about him?”

“Does he know?”

Esther took a deep breath and let it out in a sigh. “No.”

“Don’t you think it will be better coming from you than finding out if it goes on television?”

“Why would it?”

“Esther, in case you are still living under a rock, Charles has a very public image. Once word gets out about the both of you, it will only be a timebomb before some journalist wanting to make a name for themselves to find out.” Esther closed her eyes.

She would have to find someone with such a following. How would Charles even feel if he found out by someone other than her? It is not like this type of thing happened every day. Jester was right though. She would need to tell him. A part of her felt like going home and locking the doors. Forget everything from the last two weeks but she knew she could not go back to that life. She had gotten out of her rabbit hole. The only thing to do was live with it. “I know. I know Jester but,” she let out a sad sigh, “what if.” She could not say it.

Jester lifted her chin. “Hey, the guy that was handcuff to my cruiser would have done it himself if he had the opportunity. Don’t assume the worst.” He lifted her up out of the chair and gave her a hug. “Now, get out of here. I’ve got real work to do.”

“I’ll be going to Myrtle Beach for the weekend.” Jester raised his eyebrow at her.

“I think I should start charging you to watch your house.” Esther laughed as she walked out.

The guys finished their meal and Charles paid the bill. Clara had apparently gone home for the day as another waitress had finished checking the table for Clara. 

They arrived home to find out they still managed to beat the ladies back home. “So, are we staying another night or heading to Myrtle tonight?” Crowe asked as Tim turned on the television to find out the weather. 

The forecaster was talking about a line of storms developing later tonight. “Looks like we can make it tonight if we leave in the next few hours.” Tim looked over at Charles. “What do you think?” Charles looked at them. 

“I need to make some calls.”

Tim looked at Charles. “You can use my office.” Charles was gone for about twenty minutes when the ladies started rolling in the cabin. Esther looked at Tim.

“I need to use your safe.” Tim gave her a puzzled look but walked to the office with Esther just behind him. Charles opened the door and startled Tim.

“We are good to go,” Charles addressed Tim without realizing Esther was just behind him. “Esther?” He was happy to see her but could tell something was slightly troubling her.

She gave him a polite smile. “Charles.”

Tim opened the safe behind the painting on the wall. Esther pulled out her Glock from her back where she had been carrying it. She separated the clip from the gun and placed them both in the safe. Tim locked it back up. He looked at them and walked out leaving them alone.

“You buy a gun today?” He asked her jokingly.

Esther let out a sigh. “No, I had it in the park. It got confiscated temporarily by the police.” He looked at her confused. “Can we please just talk about it later?”

Charles studied her. Was she in some sort of trouble? If she had been, Tanner had not said anything. Certainly, he would have let him know. “We can.” He continued to look at her. “You still want to go to Myrtle Beach?” He wondered if she had changed her mind.

She looked up at him and gave him a slight laugh. “And pass the opportunity of making you sick on the rides?”

He smiled back at her. “I don’t get sick.”

“That is not what your sister says.”

“You shouldn’t believe everything she tells you.” He moved closer to her gently. He was searching her facial expression to see if she really wanted to still go. No telling what Caroline had said to her. She was upset about something. “Esther, are you sure?”

She let out a breath and looked back at him. “Of course.” She quickly gave him a kiss and walked back out of the office. They walked back into a flurry of activity as they all went to pack their bags. “I take it we are leaving very soon?” He followed her upstairs.

“Not without us,” he smiled at her as he said as he closed their door. 

She let out a laugh. “You are terrible.”

“I thought I was on a payment plan.” He backed her up to the bed. Whatever was bothering her, he would find out later. He hoped it had nothing to do with Caroline Bingley.

Esther took a quick shower as Charles took the bags downstairs. He had been playful with her as evident of the bite marks on her lower neck. Esther shook her head. Luckily, the shirt covered them. Charles and Esther rode with Tim and Augusta as the others rode with Tanner.

Sidney looked at Charlotte. She had been quiet as they got back. They had been too busy getting ready to leave to have any substantial conversation about their day. She had kissed him when they were in their room, so he knew although she was slightly upset about hearing about Eliza, she must not spoke to her. He knew she would eventually talk about it.

Charlotte looked at Sidney. “Looks like you guys went to practice paintball.”

“Practice?” Crowe asked.

“Yeah, because you aren’t very good at it.” Suzie quipped at him.

Crowe appraised her. “We took it easy on you.” Charlotte let out a snort. “Charles wanted to make a good impression on Esther.”

Suzie laughed. “Keep telling yourself that, sooner or later you will believe it.” Crowe looked to disagree with her.

“So, you are saying that you ladies are better shots than we are?” Sidney asked her.

“Any day of the week and twice on Sunday.” Suzie replied hauntingly.

Sidney looked over at Crowe. “Well, I just happen to know that the amusement park has plenty of shooting games for a rematch.” Sidney gave Charlotte a little squeeze on her hand. “Unless, you are scared to have a rematch.”

Suzie let out a hmp and looked over at Charlotte. “Your boyfriend is delusional.” Charlotte let out a light laugh.

They arrived at the plane quickly. The crew got them loaded up and they were in the air shortly. Charlotte was slightly nervous as the plane bounced around due to the turbulence. 

“Good news Babington.” Crowe sat down next to him. “It seems that the ladies are quite certain that they are better than us at shooting and have challenged us to a rematch.   
Sidney believes there should be plenty of opportunity at Tom’s park.”

“We are better Crowe. It’s a fact.” Suzie quipped over the seat as she sat next to Esther.

Crowe smiled at Babington. “Willing to take a bet Miss Worchester?” He gave Sidney a wink when Charlotte was not looking. “You must be scared. I don’t hear you talking.”

Esther looked at Charlotte and Suzie and nodded to accept the challenge. Suzie smiled as she responded back to Crowe. “We aren’t scared. We are just trying to figure out what we want to take you for.”

Crowe smiled humorously towards Charles. Suzie had played right into his hands and she did not even know it. “Oh, I think we can figure something out.”

“I’m feeling left out here.” Augusta replied as it was apparent, they all had recently played, and she had not. 

“I think you will have an advantage that way. If I understand correctly, Suzie and Esther are quite the sharp shooters.” Tim gave her a smile for reassurance.

“What’s the name of this park?” Suzie asked.

“Sanditon Skyline Park.” Sidney replied. 

“Never heard of it.” Suzie replied as she looked it up on her phone.

“He bought it from the former owners and renamed it. He’s looking to rebrand it for the younger crowd.” Sidney was proud of his oldest brother for finding his passion after being laid off from his corporate job several years ago. The plane began its descent.

Esther heard her alert for a text message as soon as the plane had stopped, and the doors were opened. She let out a groan. “Let me guess, you guys ate at Wild Bear today?”

“Yes, why?” Tim asked.

“Well, I’m getting notifications from Clara, Edward and Aunt Sophia. What in the world did you say to her?”

Tim replied first. “Charles introduced us. She asked if he still had business with Sophia and we talked about her wedding to Edward.”

“Please tell me no one mentioned anything about Myrtle Beach.” The men all thought of it and replied negatively. “Nothing else?” She waited. “Are you sure?”

“She might know about you hooking up with Charles.” Crowe commented and it was garnished with a glare from Charles at the tone. Crowe gave him a smirk in reply.

Suzie looked over, “I may have said something about Myrtle Beach while we were shopping in Gatlinburg to one of the clerks.” Esther looked over at her. 

Esther let out a huff and rubbed her forehead. “I’m getting a headache.” She punched in some numbers. “It’s Evee. Pull me from Clara and Edward. Yeah, shut it all down. Feel free to quarantine them too.” Esther let out a light laugh. “Yeah, it’s a real picnic. Alright. Bye.”

Suzie looked over at Esther. “You called Trojan?”

“Who is Trojan?” Charlotte asked inquisitively.

“Have you ever heard the phrase loose lips sink ships?” Suzie asked her.

“It’s a slogan from World War II, right?”

Esther gave Tim half a smile. “Yes, and it applies so well with talking to Clara, who will talk to Edward and the Lord knows, he’ll talk to anybody who will listen to him talk.” Esther let out a sigh. “This is damage control. Trojan is someone I know who has a particular skillset that tends to come in handy.”

“You know that’s illegal.” Tim said to her. 

“Says the person who creates my profiles without asking.” Esther gave him a grimace.


	41. The Proposal

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm going to try to start wrapping this storyline up.

The ride to Tom’s house was particularly quiet. They arrived at Trafalgar House shortly after arriving from the airport. It was a stately house, a mansion really, that sat behind a gated entry. Beautifully designed to take best advantage of the views, there was no bad room to be had for them. Ocean views for the bedrooms and garden views for those that were not lucky enough to get one of those rooms.

Tom was delighted that Sidney had brought some influential friends with him. Sanditon Skyline Park’s new imagine would need more investors than originally planned.

Tom greeted Sidney enthusiastically as soon as the SUV pulled into the driveway. “Sidney! I am so glad you are here. I need to talk to you.” 

“Tom, let us get the guests settled, shall we? It’s been a terribly busy day for us.”

Tom looked at Sidney’s friends. “Of course, of course. Apologies! Mary!”

Mary Parker came out of the nursery. “Sidney! You are finally here!” Mary gave him a warm hug. “Oh, you brought lots of friends.”

“I hope you don’t mind Mary.”

“Of course, we don’t, do we Mary?” Tom answered for her. 

Mary smiled warmly at them. “Of course not. Any friend of Sidney is always welcomed here.”

“Tom, Mary, you both know Charles and Crowe, but let me introduce you to the others.” Sidney introduced the rest of the group.

“Let me go get you all settled. Tom will no doubt be wanting to talk your ear off.” Sidney knew how his brother was. Mary led them to the guest wing of the house. She let Sidney pick out the rooms for his friends. “The water has been very nice, but I believe there will be some storms later tonight.” Mary looked at Sidney. “Have you had dinner, or would you want the staff to fix dinner later?”

“A late dinner would probably work out best, wouldn’t it?” Sidney looked over to his friends who nodded in agreement.

They all divided up into their respective rooms. Charles looked at Esther, “Want to go for a walk while we can?” He wanted to talk to her to see what was bothering her away from everyone. He was concerned about Caroline.

“Sure, just let me plug the phone in.” Esther was not inclined to be bothered with it, for now anyway. No telling what all got posted before Trojan was able to shut it all down. 

Esther looked at Charles who had decided to do the same thing. Esther looked at him. “Oh, so now we are both going to get lost?”

He laughed at her. “I believe we should be alright.” Charles led her out to the pathway through a formal garden which led to the beach pathway. They deposited their shoes as they walked out onto the sand. He took her hand as he led her towards the water. Esther looked back and could see the back of the house. “It’s very beautiful here.” 

“It is.” Esther could only agree with his statement. “I take it you have been here?”

Charles laughed. “It’s been a few years. They had just got the place and was looking to make it into a B-N-B.” 

“Were you lost then too?”

“No,” he laughed out loud. “I did try my hand at surfing, which I don’t know if I could say I was truly successful at it.” It brought up a memory of a young lifeguard who he was determined to impress. He could not even remember what the girl even looked like now. He let out a half laugh as he looked at her. “Crowe and I had come down for about a week. I’ll admit there was a lot of drinking going on at the time.” Which is how he ended up meeting the lifeguard as Crowe had decided to go swimming one early morning after a heavy night of drinking and Charles and Sidney had to drag him out of the water. The lifeguard was just getting set up for the day. She then berated them for their behavior once it was apparent that Crowe was alright. 

Esther tried to imagine Charles learning how to surf. “I imagine there is more to that story.” Esther commented as she walked in the tide that was drifting onto the sand.

Charles flushed on how quickly she called him out. He studied her trying to figure out what she was thinking about. “No, not really. I mean I did try to impress the local lifeguard but apparently her surfer boyfriend had one talent that I did not.” And apparently it was better since she shot him down, rather quickly if he was honest with himself. Charles looked at Esther, who had gotten quiet on the plane. He reflected on just how many there had been. Not nearly as many as Crowe, more than Sidney though. Sidney had pretty much killed himself after Eliza left him and would not be bothered looking at any girl for a long time. Until the year that Charlotte had shown up as a house guest of Tom’s.

Esther tried to move out of the way when she thought the water was deeper than she wanted it to be and ended up bumping into Charles and let out a contagious laugh as Charles caught her from falling. Charles caught his breath looking at her. “You know you didn’t need to worry about Clara or Edward posting anything about us.”

Esther slightly furled her eyebrows. She let out a light sigh. “I didn’t do it to protect me. I did it to protect you and your family.”

Charles was taken back. Why would she need to protect them, “what do you mean?”

Esther walked towards a tree that had been brought up to sit on along the beach. “There is still an investigation about what happened at the falls.” Esther wished she had a beer at this moment to help calm her nerves. Charles sat down next to her. “They haven’t figured out who actually killed the one guy. It was a little chaotic at that moment. The men had left the woman and I went to go help her when Tim had come off the trail. One of them went to shoot at Tim and my reflexes took over. The other guy came swinging the knife while I was focused on the other guy. Him, I shot. The team came in sometime during the mix.”

Charles took her hands, “Clearly, it was self-defense.” He had been closer to losing her than he could possibly imagine. No wonder why that guy was screaming about getting her back. Esther relaxed the tension that was in her body.

“Oh, it definitely was, but I know how it could get distorted and I didn’t want any of you to get blindsided if anyone went snooping.”

Esther found him smiling at her foolishly. “Oh, there’s a way around that.” He hesitated shortly and let out a light laugh. “You just have to give them something else to talk about.” 

Esther rolled her eyes at him. Charles gave her a light kiss. “I heard you ran into Miss Bingley again.”

“Again?”

“Yeah, I heard you came by the office and she thought you were the secretary.”

Esther was going to need to talk to Mr. Belmont. He sold her out quick. So much for the brotherhood.

Esther let out a laugh. “Yes, although I would like to know why she keeps thinking I’m the secretary.”

Charles face faltered a little and he let out a breath. “Miss Bingley had been my father’s secretary at one point.”

“Miss Bingley was a secretary?”

Charles let out a small laugh. “Not very good at it, as you can imagine.” Esther was aware that his grip had slightly increased. He needed to be honest with her as she had been with him. “I had come home one summer to intern. My college girlfriend and I had broken up just before valentine’s day. One night during an office party at a local bar, one thing led to another. My dad of course was not too happy, so my parents had decided to help her out with her career, unofficially of course, and she became a successful model.”

Esther was surprised at his openness.

“She of course introduced me to all sorts of models, which came in handy when the foundation had events. Then, she found out who I really was, and I was easily led to believe she really sincere.” Charles let out another sigh. “Then, the whole boat thing with Charlotte and Sidney and I realized she was just in it for the money.” He was surprised on how easy that had been once he started talking.

The storm had finally approached them as the wind slightly picked up and they could see lightning out over the ocean. “Looks like we should head back.” Charles commented to her.

“I thought you wanted to build sandcastles in the rain.” He laughed at her.

“Rain maybe, lightning not so much.” He studied her as they had turned to walk back towards the house. They had walked a good distance. He had opened to her, there was no reason not to continue to do so. “Five.”

Esther was in deep thought when she heard him say something. “What” She was a little confused.

He stopped. “I said five.”

“Five what.” He almost let out a laugh at her expression.

Instead he let out a light sigh. “The actual number of women I’ve slept with.”

She curled her eyebrow, “I don’t think I asked.”

“Oh, come on, you know you wanted to know.” Didn’t all women want to know? He knew he wanted to know. He was trying to read her expression. “I mean I’ve dated plenty, but I’ve only with five.” Might as well get it all out while he was at it. “Three were just one-night stands and there was Miss Bingley.” ‘And now,’ as he looked at her, ‘there’s you.’ And you Miss Denham are not a one-night stand, he thought to himself.

“Explains the remarks today at the gallery.”

“Why, what did they say?” He could only imagine what type of hateful things Caroline would say.

Esther was surprised at how he seemed willing to discuss things. She shrugged her shoulders. “Mrs. Campion’s impression is you like to hook up with your secretaries and Caroline says you then send them to the curb.”

Good grief, he could not have Esther thinking that. He let out a breath. “Only Miss Bingley was a former secretary and she was my father’s secretary.” He let out a short laugh.   
“I’m not inclined to get myself in that kind of situation.” He smiled at her, “although I might make an exception for you Miss Denham.”

Esther let out a laugh. “That would be a very bad idea.”

“Why, you need a job?” He sounded short.

Esther rolled her eyes at him. “You know that wouldn’t work. I don’t make coffee.” He laughed at her. She let out a breath. She was going to need to talk about it sooner or later. 

“Besides, I’ve had to go to Charlotte for Uncle Jack.” She could tell he was perplexed. “His company lost their CFO and Jenkins, the CEO, needs me to look at their books until they can get someone up to speed.” This was news and Charles wondered how long she knew. “I just got a call this morning after you left.”

“And just what kind of business did Uncle Jack have?”

Esther let out a light laugh. “An acquisition company.” Charles found himself laughing. No wonder why Jack said he knew he was a busy guy.

He let out a sigh. Charlotte was not that far. ‘Who was he kidding?’ he thought. He wanted her with him, not four hours away. He wondered what kind of shape the business was in. He could buy it and then she would work from Wilmington. “Their accounting data isn’t online?”

“I have no idea.” He was obviously thinking of something. “Why?”

“I thought maybe you would want to stay in Wilmington.” The storm was getting closer. Charles could feel his heart beating faster.

“I don’t think I would be comfortable staying with Dr. Evers and Molly at this point.” Esther had not expected this conversation would come up so quickly. She had spoken to them on the phone shortly while they were in Maggie Valley, so they knew she was safe.

He took a deep breath to calm himself, “I meant with me.” It was a profoundly serious statement. He knew he was asking a lot for someone that had really been through the ringer the last few years. It would require a whole lot of trust. There was only one thing he could think of that would demonstrate it on his part. He took her hand and kneeled in the sand. “Miss Denham, would you do me the honor of becoming my wife?”

Ester let out a nervous laugh. “This is ridiculous.”

“I’m serious.” He was being so honest with her. If he had asked her last week, she would call him delusional. His admission in the hospital was just the beginning for him. His gaze was the same now as it was then. 

“I was not expecting this.” Of course not, he thought. He had not expected it either, but his dad had. 

His father had come into his office after they had found out she was on the trail alone. Between the weather report and the news about the missing convicts in the area, they had all been set to leave. He had stayed behind to let his father know what was going on while the others went to pack their bags. His father had found the photo of them in the campground.

“This is a good photo of you both,” Chester looked at his son while holding up the photo.

Charles had been talking absentmindedly as he tried to let his father know what was going on, but he was not making any sense. Chester sat him down and gave him a look.

“Charles, I’m sure we can manage this place while you are out. This is the last thing you need to worry about right now.”

“You must think I’m crazy.”

Chester let out a light laugh at his son. “You are, but you wouldn’t be the first Babington to be so. I had asked your mother to marry me after a week.” Chester smiled at his son. “Although, Kat had laughed at me and told me no. But I was persistent and after a couple of months, she had changed her mind. There is only one cure for love.”

Charles looked at his father. “Love?” Was he in love with her so soon?

Chester smiled at him. “There’s nothing wrong with falling in love quickly. The only hard part to love is if you fall out of it. If you feel that you heart is being ripped out at this moment, then yes, I will call it love.”

Esther looked at him intently. Why would he want to marry her? He had been acting a little more peculiar since the hospital. Even Tim had noticed a change in Charles when they had arrived on the scene the other day. Was it possible that he loved her? “Very well then,” she answered softly.

Charles was not sure he heard her correctly. “You, you accept me?”

She kissed him quickly. “Stop talking before I change my mind.” The storm had finally arrived as it began to rain as they made their way back to the house. They were both soaked from head to toe as they entered a mud room.

They found Mary had spotted them on the beach and had been expecting them as she handed them oversized towels. “You should go get out of those wet clothes before you get sick.” She could only laugh at them. “Go on, you wouldn’t be the first to leave water puddles around the hall.”

They got back to their room and did exactly as Mary instructed although they had gotten a little distracted before they went to find the others.


	42. The Past Makes an Appearance

Sidney and Charlotte joined Tom and Mary in his study. Tom was looking at the model of the amusement park that was laid out before him. “Well, what do you think Sidney?”

“I’m not expert, but it looks like you’ve got a good head for this sort of thing.”

Tom let out a little laugh. “This part is the easy part. The hard part is bringing it to fruition. Did you know what the average cost is to build a top of the line roller coaster nowadays?”

“Not in the least.” Sidney answered blandly.

“Well, they aren’t cheap unless of course you just want the basic thing.”

“Let me guess, you aren’t interested in those.”

“Tom is looking at one that will cost approximately $30 million.” Mary handed Sidney a flyer, aptly named, the Sanditon Flyer.

“It’s to be the pinnacle for the park. I will be removing two of the older rides, two outdated wooden roller coasters, to build it.”

“Perhaps, there is something else that could be used instead. You know, something with a more reasonable price tag. Then, you could update some of the other components of the park as well.” Charlotte listened as Tom and Sidney talked about the different options.

“Perhaps, Tom could sell the older rides to a smaller park and use that money to offset some costs?” Charlotte was trying to brainstorm with them.

“Fantastic idea, Charlotte. I always knew you had a level head.” Charlotte gave Sidney a small smile. Mary nodded in agreement with Charlotte. They spent an hour in discussion about various ideas.

“Well, I’ll tell you what Tom. My friends and I will look around while we are there and give you our honest assessment of which plans would be more beneficial for you.”

“Splendid, Sidney, Splendid!”

Tom left to go to make some phone calls and Mary left them to check on the children. The storm was approaching, and she knew they would be nervous.

Sidney let out his breath. “Well, Charlotte, what do you really think?”

Charlotte smiled at him, “It’s a very impressive vision.”

Sidney let out a laugh. “Yes, well, Tom has never been one to not have any grand ideas.” Charlotte laughed at him. “Although, he gave me probably the best idea ever.”

Charlotte furled her brow inquisitively as he came closer to her.

“He asked me to find an intern for him last year.” He smiled at her. “Although, I was pretty sure she was going to be the death of me.” Sidney took her hands. “I hope that I have greatly improved your opinion of me.” He let out a breath. “If I had made changes, it was no small part due to you.”

Charlotte held his gaze. “You are the same man, but much improved.”

Charlotte could feel a change in the air between them. “Charlotte Heywood,” Sidney began quietly, “I love you. Will you do me the great, great honor of taking me as your husband?” Charlotte could not speak for a full minute due to the emotion, so she nodded yes.

The children ran into the study screaming for Uncle Sidney as the storm arrived. Charlotte could only laugh as he picked up Henry while the girls grabbed her hands. Mary came in shortly after. “I’m sorry, they were in such a state Sidney.”

“It’s alright Mary.” Mary looked at them. “I’m glad you are here. Where’s Tom?”

Tom had followed and gave his younger brother a perplex look. 

“I want you both to know that Charlotte has agreed to take me off the market.” Mary was genuinely happy for Charlotte and Tom gave the couple his wholehearted congratulations.

Jenny asked Charlotte, “What does that mean?”

Charlotte laughed lightly at her. “It means you can call me Aunt Charlotte.” 

Mary gave Charlotte a warm hug before giving one to Sidney. “It’s about time Sidney.” Sidney could only let out a light chuckle at her.

“What’s the matter with you?” Crowe asked Suzie as she threw the local paper down.

“Nothing,” Suzie got up to grab herself a beer. She was not going to let him know she was not looking forward to the line of thunderstorms rolling in. He would not allow her to live it down. Charles and Esther walked in. “Where have you been?”

Esther flushed slightly, “We went for a walk before the storm.”

“I’d watch out, she’s in a mood.” Crowe commented while Charles sat down in a chair next to him.

“I am not in a mood Crowe.” Suzie snapped back. She handed Esther the newspaper. Esther gave her an inquisitive look and Suzie had to point to what she was wanting her to look at. Esther looked back at her and rolled her eyes.

“You can’t be serious.”

“I am.”

“We have no band.”

“They have a gig at Shaw on Saturday. They could be here tomorrow.”

“I don’t know Suzie.” Esther looked over to Charles. 

The rest of the group filtered into the room for dinner. “What’s tomorrow?” Augusta asked.

Esther let out a sigh. “Suzie wants to go do a karaoke band battle.”

Charlotte came in the room, “What’s a karaoke band battle?” Suzie spent the next few minutes explaining it. Charlotte’s eyes lit up. “That sounds like fun.”

“Is there drinking involved?” Crowe asked.

“It’s at the Sanditon Surf Bar, so I would imagine so.” Esther commented.

“Isn’t that the bar that Tom invested in when they first moved into the area?” Charlotte asked Sidney.

“It is, although I think he sold his share so he could buy into the amusement park.”

“Well, I didn’t tag along out here to sit around in the house.” Crowe commented loudly. “I could have done that in Wilmington.”

The staff brought out their dinner. They decided to play cards after dinner while the storm was rolling through. Charles found himself partner with Crowe against Esther and Suzie at Euchre. They were well into the third round when Crowe caught Suzie looking at Esther, “I knew it.”

Charles looked at him. “Knew what?”

“They are cheating.”

“I have no idea what you are talking about Crowe.” Esther replied.

“You both have been table talking.” Crowe snorted to which Suzie could no longer contain her amusement of the situation. The lights flickered as the storm intensified. 

“Well, since this is obviously is over, I think I shall call it.” Suzie got up and left to go to her room. Esther watched her friend leave.

“I don’t think your friend knows how to play honestly.” Crowe commented to Esther.

“Oh, don’t be such a bad sport Crowe.” She gave him a wink. “At least it wasn’t poker. You would be hitchhiking back home after we took all your money.” Charles laughed at his expression.

“Doubtful Esther.” Crowe replied.

Esther got up and went to talk to a staff member. The sounds of wind and heave rain pelting the house could be heard. The staff member brought back a bucket of beers in ice. Esther sat the bucket down in front of Crowe. Crowe looked over at Charles. “What’s this for?”

Esther sat down next to Charles. “Well, you could spend the rest of your night with all of us or you could use your witty remarks with the only single girl in the house.”

Crowe let out a hmp. “As if.”

“Don’t tell me you are scared of a little competition? I am sure Tanner would be more than happy to entertain Suzie. She really hates storms.” Esther pursed her lips. “And as it is likely the power will be going out will need some quality entertainment to keep her mind off of them.” Crowe looked at her than back to Charles. As if on que, the lights flickered once again. Crowe grabbed the bucket and left.

“What did you just do?” He asked her amusingly.

Esther gave him a wink. “Just a little Sophia Denham interference. Besides, I didn’t say she was going to be that easy.” Esther let out a laugh.

“You’re terrible.”

“I’m just getting started Charles Babington. Now, we need to go find the electrical panel for that room.” Charles could only laugh at her as she went to talk to Sidney. The game between the remaining pairs was over, Sidney and Charles went to turn off the power in Suzie’s room with Tim’s help.

Charlotte looked at Esther and Augusta who were sitting on the couch over by the television. She sat down near them. “Sidney asked me to marry him.” The girls congratulated   
her. “Can I ask you for your help? Most of my sisters are too young, except for Allison.”

Augusta looked at Esther. “I would be more than happy to.” She went to find Tim.

Esther smiled at Charlotte. “Of course.” 

“So, you and Charles went for a walk?”

Esther looked at Charlotte. “We did until it started raining, although we didn’t exactly run back and got soaked.” Esther could tell Charlotte was wondering something. “You know if there’s something you want to ask; you don’t need to be all coy about it. I’m used to simple and direct.”

Charlotte laughed. “I just wondered if I will be seeing more of you in Wilmington. I don’t have that many good friends there.”

Esther smiled at her. “Charles seems to be on the same thought pattern. He asked me to move in.”

Charlotte let out an excited laugh. “What did you say?”

Esther gave her a wink as they heard the others coming back. “I told him I wasn’t making the coffee.”

“Well, mission accomplished. Now, what?”

Sidney looked at Charlotte. “Well, I do believe Charlotte has something that she needs to go pick out.” He gave her a smile and a wink. “I believe there are some shops nearby if we want to brave the weather.” Augusta let out a squeal of delight. They could only laugh at her.

Charles looked over at Esther who was amused at Augusta. He followed her back to their room to collect their phones. “I thought you would say something.”

Esther looked at Charles, “I’m not going to jump in on Charlotte’s moment. It would seem self-serving.” She was so different that Miss Bingley. “What is that look for?”

He smiled at her. “Have I told you how amazing you are?”

Esther let out a laugh. “Why are you trying to butter me up?”

“I thought you liked it when I buttered you up.” Esther flushed as he got closer. “I got you something today.”

Esther looked at him perplexed, “Is this part of my bill?”

Charles laughed at her. “Well, you are running up quite the tab today. I might let this one just slide, since I didn’t get your thoughts on it first.” He pulled out a box. He opened it to reveal an aquamarine stone being held by four daisy blossoms that contained blue sapphire centers surrounded by diamonds along their petals. He watched her expression. “Do you like it?”

“How could I not? It’s beautiful.” His excitement was contagious. She studied him. “How did you know I liked daisies?”

He smiled at her. “Observation Miss Denham. Now, are you going to at least try it on?” He took it out of the box and placed it on her hand. “I believe this was made just for you.” He kissed her. Esther could not believe it as she looked at her hand that she had sitting on his chest. “You sure you want to take it off?”

“No, not really but I think today should be Charlotte’s day.” He put the ring back in the box. A knock on the door broke the moment.

“You all coming or what?” Augusta yelled through the door. Charles gave her a humorous smile and took her hand as they walked towards the door.

They arrived at the large open mall complex shortly. It was busy for a Thursday night. The rain had tapered off. Sidney led Charlotte towards one of the better jewelry stores while the others decided to go walk around a bit.

Augusta led them all to the local bookstore as she saw a flyer for some new writings based off Jane Austen’s works. Charles and Tim went to the coffee bar while the ladies were meandering around the store. Augusta came back after finding two selections of her choice and joined them at the table drinking her hot chocolate. “Where is Esther?” Tim asked.

“She is still looking at some of the newer stuff written about Sanditon.”

“Sanditon?” Charles asked as he wondered if Tom had renamed the amusement park because of it.

Augusta laughed. “Yes, it is another Jane Austen book, but it was not completed before her death. A few talented writers have picked up the torch.”

Charles excused himself to go find her. Sure enough, she was reading a book as he walked up to her. “Don’t you have to buy it before you read it?” He asked her teasingly.

“If I don’t read some of it, how do I know I want to buy it?”

“You could just buy it on a whim.” Esther looked at the hard cover edition of Sanditon Before and Beyond by Sukiblue99. It was a beautiful copy and no doubt she needed something else to replace her old copy of Pride and Prejudice since she had decided to move forward in her life with Charles.

She gave him a smile, “Alright. You twisted my arm. I see you found some business journals.”

“Guilty,” he chuckled at her. “Come on, I believe there is an ice cream shoppe that sells Eddy’s.”

Esther laughed. “You know me so well.”

“I hope so Miss Denham or it might be a little awkward explaining to my mom why I asked you to marry me so soon.”

They were looking at each other so intently they did not see Augusta and Tim had appeared around them until they heard Augusta let out a shriek. “What?!” Augusta looked at Esther, “Why didn’t you say anything earlier?” Esther flushed a little. “Oh, have you not given him an answer?”

Charles laughed at her. “Augusta you do have the worst timing sometimes.” Charles took the book from Esther. “And of course, she has given me her answer.” Augusta’s excitement could not be contained as she insisted that Esther get some wedding magazines for ideas and dragged her away.

Charles found himself being studied by Tim. “What is that look for?”

“You really don’t waste any time, do you?”

Charles could only laugh. “Believe me, no one is more surprised than I.”

Augusta was flipping through various magazines, trying to decide which ones that would suit the best. “You know my mother will simply want the biggest and fanciest wedding.”

Esther looked at her. “Well, Aunt Sophia I’m sure will throw her opinion in it too but it’s really not up to them.” Augusta gaped at her. “What?”

“You must not have met my mother.”

Esther let out a little laugh. “I have, purely by accident though. She was at the gallery on the boardwalk when I went to sign my release for the photos for the fund raiser.”

Augusta was aware of a guy staring at Esther. A guy about Charles age, clearly military by his haircut. “Esther Denham?”

Esther turned to find herself looking at George. Her amusement in her facial expression dropped when Charles and Tim appeared on the other side. It figures. Hundreds of miles from the last time she seen him, and he would choose to show up here of all places. She wished she could play off the recognition, but she knew he knew her too well to do so.

Augusta though sold her out too quick even if she wanted to. “She is. Who are you?”

George looked at Augusta and gave her an appreciative glance from head to toe before giving her a salacious smile. “George Wickham.” He drunk both ladies in. “Who are you?”

Esther gave him a stink eye. “She’s not interested George.”

George was not discouraged as he continued to smile at them. “What brings you this way?” He asked them as Charles and Tim were close enough for the conversation. He looked at the magazines Augusta was holding. “Someone getting married?” He focused on Esther trying to give her an inviting smile. “Want to catch up?”

Charles put his arm around her. “Who’s this?” Charles studied the man in front of Esther.

“A good old friend, right Esther? We go way back, don’t we?” Charles could tell he was implying something. “George Wickham.” George held out his hand to determine what kind of guy Charles was.

“Charles Babington.” Charles gripped his hand rather firmly.

George looked over at the other guy. “Tim Dutton.” He shook his hand as well.

“Yes, well, like I was saying, Esther and I go way back.” George refocused on Esther. “What brings you here?”

“Vacation, obviously.” Esther was curt.

“Miranda and I are here for the band battle tomorrow at Sanditon Surf Bar. You should come by. I’ll buy you some drinks.” He winked at her and walked away.

Esther let out an exaggerated sigh and mumbled. “Great.” Esther found three pair of eyes on her wanting an explanation. “Do I get my ice cream now?”

Charles knew that tone. “Come on Augusta. Let us go check out. The bear needs her ice cream.” He gave her a mischievous smile. They checked out and walked to the ice cream shoppe.

A retro ice cream parlor and diner was their destination. The waitress left to go get their selections. Esther found she was not going to escape the questioning after the waitress had dropped off their ice cream and left them to themselves.

“Suzie and George used to date when we were doing our gigs. George helped me with learning the electric guitar and bass.” She wished that were the end of the conversation, but it really was not fair to Charles as honest as he had been with her if he had told her the truth anyway. “Suzie left on a deployment and he hooked up with Miranda who was a singer from another band.”

“Are they any good?” Augusta asked her.

“They like to sing newer stuff, mostly pop. It is hard to compare apples to oranges. We only did one competition with them when we had started so we were not really any competition.” Maybe Suzie would change her mind if she knew George and Miranda was going to be there.

Esther caught Charlotte and Sidney coming in. “Did you save us any?” Charlotte asked them as they pulled up some chairs.

Augusta was looking over Tim to Charlotte as she wanted to see what Charlotte had picked out. “Wow, Charlotte, it’s beautiful.” Charlotte was slightly embarrassed. Esther agreed with Augusta’s assessment.

“Where did you all go?” Sidney asked.

“Bookstore.” Augusta answered quickly. “Oh, and we met some of the competition for the band battle. Apparently, the one of the guys used to date Suzie.” Esther had gotten really quiet, to which Charles picked up at as she concentrated on her ice cream. The waitress came back over to get Sidney and Charlotte’s order. They finished up their ice cream and decided to head back towards Tom’s house. They divided up into their respective rooms.

“You are being awfully quiet.” He observed her.

“I’m thinking. It’s an occupational hazard of my analytical skills.”

“Maybe you are over thinking it.” He knew by George’s tone and her subsequentially behavior there was a history there.

“Maybe.” She still was not sure she was ready to talk about it. Before Charles could say anything else, his phone started ringing. 

“It’s my mother.” Charles looked at her.

Esther gave him a polite smile. “Saved by the bell.” He ignored the call.

“No, you are not.” He sat the phone on the nightstand. He took her hand and led her to sit on the bed. “Esther Denham,” he let out a sigh, “just tell me and get over with it.”

Esther was a little taken back with his abrupt tone. “Suzie really didn’t date back in those days. She just randomly hooked up. Those days I was spending quite a bit of time drinking. Suzie had deployed overseas; Scott had died, and I had a serious lapse in judgement.”

“I figured as much by his tone.”

Esther looked at him and found there was no judgement in his expression.

“Yeah, well, I ended up in rehab and when I got out, I found Suzie and he had hooked up.”

“But you consider Suzie a good friend.”

“She is. He didn’t tell her about us, and he didn’t tell either of us about Miranda.” Esther let out a cynical laugh. “So, in a way he did us both a favor.”

“Don’t you feel better now.”

Esther let out a sigh as she sat cross legged on the bed. “Then, there was Peter and a one-night stand with one of Edward’s friends.” There she said it.

Charles looked at her. “What about Scott?”

Esther looked at him confused. “Scott wasn’t that kind of guy.” 

“You are telling me you were going to marry this guy and he never hit a home run?” He looked at her in disbelief.

“Oh, I’m sure he did, just not with me.” She would be stupid to think he never had sex with anyone before they even started dating.

To her shock, he let out a chuckle.

“What is so funny?”

“You are Miss Denham.” He gave her a lingering kiss. “Now, you feel better now?”

Esther gave him a look. “I know what will make me feel better.”

“Such innuendo Miss Denham.” He chuckled at her as he did as he was asked.


	43. The Breakfast Table

“Shower?” Esther looked at Charles.

“I better call my mother back.” 

Esther shrugged her shoulder. “And it already starts.”

“Oh, stop.” She let out a chuckle as she went to take a shower. Charles let out a sigh as he looked at the phone. He hit a few buttons.

Surprisingly, she did not pick up as quickly as he thought she would. Just when he thought it was going to voice mail, she answered.

“Charles.”

“Mother.”

“I know you are on vacation, but I would like to know when you might be back.”

“I would imagine Sunday mother. Why?”

“I would just like to see you when you get in. There’s some business we need to take care of.” His mother was being very vague. “Bring Esther.”

“Alright, we will see you then.” Charles plugged his phone back in and when he turned around, he found Esther standing in the doorway very seductively wearing her new outfit from Gatlinburg.

“I bought you something too. Do you like it?” Esther could tell he was incredibly happy with it.

Mary Parker woke up early. Today, was going to be a remarkably busy day for the house. Sidney and his friends were heading to the amusement park and there were a few other investors that Tom was meeting. Sidney was already looking at some information in Tom’s study.

“You are up awful early Sidney. I didn’t hear you all get back.”

“We were very worn out. I doubt any of the others will be up anytime soon.”

“Actually, Charles and Esther are already out walking on the beach.” Sidney looked out one of the many windows but could not see them. He wondered if it had anything to do about the other band that was mentioned at the ice cream shop. “What time do you think you will head to the park?”

“I would think early. Suzie mentioned something about a karaoke thing tonight at the Sanditon Surf Bar.”

“Oh, that sounds like fun. Breakfast should be ready in about an hour.”

“Thanks Mary.” Sidney looked around. Tom’s papers were disorganized as usual. Sidney wondered how he had gotten so successful before. He let out a chuckle. He needed another assistant. Well, Charlotte would not be it. Sidney had no desire to move back towards Myrtle Beach.

Sidney went downstairs to find Charlotte, Charles and Esther already sitting down for breakfast. He gave Charlotte a kiss on her cheek while he sat down next to her. “I take it, the rest of them are still sleeping.”

“Well, to be fair,” Esther looked at Sidney, “there’s no power in Suzie’s room so they probably have no idea what time it is.”

Mary looked at Sidney. “There’s no power in Suzie’s room? Did anyone check the electrical panel?” Esther glanced over at Charlotte in amusement.

“I’ll go check Mary.” Sidney got up and went to turn the power back on. He was back quickly as Tim and Augusta showed up.

“Maybe someone should check on Suzie?” Augusta asked looking at Esther.

“Oh, I know better than that.” She let out a chuckle. “I’m sure her phone will start letting her know, she should have been up hours ago.”

“Hours?” Charlotte asked.

“Suzie has an alarm for her morning run routine, an alarm for when she should be done, and about five other alarms for other things. She is very methodical.” Which is why they got along so well. “If she’s not up here in ten minutes, I’ll go check, but I would wager it won’t take that long.”

“Did someone say wager?” Crowe came up meandering to the table.

“Crowe, we thought you would still be in bed. It’s awful early.” Charles remarked trying to determine if Crowe had a good night or not.

“That must have been some storm. Power was out all night.” Crowe commented towards Mary.

“All night?” Mary stepped out to see if Tom would call an electrician. Maybe there was a short somewhere in that room.

Crowe looked around. “What’s the matter with the lot of you?” They all pretended ignorance.

Suzie came in last, put together rather well as Esther appraised her. Her hair was still wet, so she had taken her three-minute military shower. “We were wondering if you still planned on losing today.” Esther quipped at him.

Crowe took his glance from Esther over to Suzie and looked at her inquisitively. “I don’t plan on losing.”

“Well, Esther did say you were delusional.” Suzie replied as she stabbed her pancakes. There was a round of laughter. “Where did you all run off to last night?”

“Charlotte went to pick out a ring. The rest of us ended up at the bookstore.”

“Sounds dull,” Crowe commented.

“Bookstores are very entertaining Mr. Crowe.” Augusta quipped at him.

“I doubt it.”

“We ran into a George Wickham.” 

“Augusta.” Charles warning tone came too late. Suzie looked up at Esther before she excused herself.

“Who is George Wickham?” Crowe asked.

“Churchill’s brother.” Esther excused herself to follow Suzie.

“Frank Churchill has a brother?” Crowe looked around. “Am I missing something?”

Charles let out a sigh. “No, Crowe. I believe the tone meant he is another Frank Churchill.”

“Who is Frank Churchill?” Augusta asked Charles.

“Frank was a guy that we met at the fund raiser who tried to make a pass at Esther before she put him in his place.” Charlotte commented. Charles looked over to Sidney. This was news.

“How did she do that?”

Sidney smiled at Augusta. “Well, she about broke his arm before she, um, kneed him in his junk and Suzie poured out a beer on him. It was actually pretty entertaining.”

“I wish I was there to see it.” Tim said out loud. He knew that guy was trouble when he met him. “Frank was always the womanizer.” They all continued to eat their breakfast.


	44. Sanditon Skyline Park

“Suzie, can I come in?” Esther knocked lightly on her door and was granted access.

“Don’t say it.” Esther looked around the room. Suzie had an exceptionally good night apparently.

“I had hoped to talk to you alone before it came out.”

“What is he doing here?”

Esther let out a sigh. “Miranda and him are here to do the band battle.”

“So, he’s still with her?”

“He is still up to his usual tactics. He asked me to get some drinks with him to catch up.”

Suzie let out a deep breath. “What a sleaze bag.” Suzie looked at Esther. “Does Charles know?”

Esther sat on a chair. “Yes. I have found that I am turning out to be an open book. I have lost my military bearing.”

To her surprise, Suzie laughed. “Well, you were never that good at it anyway.” Esther could only laugh in agreement. “I look forward in stomping all over them tonight.”

“Are you sure you still want to go through with it?”

Suzie gave her a look of determination. “Even more so now. What about you?”

“I’ve got your six.” Esther smiled at her. “Now, there is something else you will find entertaining.”

Suzie gave her a perplex look.

“Charles asked me to marry him.”

“Well, it seems you’ve been very busy.” Suzie studied her friend and Esther found herself blushing under the scrutiny. “Wow. I had asked for details, but I do not think you are quite ready to start talking. I wish you were still drinking. You’d be selling it out after two beers.”

“I’m not that talkative after two beers.”

Suzie raised her eyebrow. “Want to bet?” Esther laughed at her friend.

“Did you contact the band?”

“I sent them a message last night before the power went out. They will be here. I should go ask Mary if there is enough room for them for the night.” Suzie gave Esther a hug before she left the room. “I am so happy for you Esther.”

Crowe looked at Charles after Augusta and Tim left to go take a quick walk on the beach when Charlotte went to go talk to Mary. “So, you got engaged as well? Seems like the both of you are abandoning a sinking ship.” Crowe looked over to Sidney. “Who am I supposed to go hang out with?”

“Crowe, I don’t think we are going to become hermits.” Sidney quipped at him.

“You say that now. Wait, until they are laying down the law.”

Charles laughed at him. “Well, I guess it’s a good thing you’ve made a good friend last night.”

“Who?”

“Suzie.” Sidney looked at Crowe. “You did hang out with her last night while we were running the streets?”

“The both of you are delusional.” Crowe got up and left the room.

Charles looked at Sidney. “You always did say denial was the first step.”

Sidney laughed. “This should be highly entertaining today. Now, I have talked to Tom about rigging some of the games, just to be on the safe side.”

“Well, then I suggest we round everyone up. It’s going to be a busy day.”

Tom walked Sidney and his friends in through the employee entrance. “Well, take a good look around while you are here. I am looking for some constructive criticism on how I can improve this place.” The guys wanted to start with the roller coasters, followed by a show, then some water rides and then the spinning rides to Charles dismay.

“Oh, don’t get sick, do you?” Esther teased him. “You aren’t looking so good. Maybe, you should go to kiddieland while the grownups ride the rides.” Charles sat down on a bench pulling her with him.

“I shouldn’t be left unattended.” He gave her a smile.

“Fine, but I think you should go sit in some shade. I have no wish to be burnt.” He agreed and they left to the shelter of an ice cream shop while the others continued without them. After cooling off, Charles was starting to get his color back. “You are looking better.”

“Why, thanks for noticing Miss Denham. I thought I was losing my touch.” His gaze made her heart rate increase. “I don’t suppose you want to leave?”

“Charles, Esther! You have got to come with us for this ride.” Augusta came running up, excited to find her favorite water rafting ride. 

They rode a few more rides before heading over to the games to wrap up their day. To Crowe’s dismay, the guys lost the first three games quickly. “I thought you said you had it taken care of Sidney,” Charles remarked to Sidney when the ladies were discussing what the real prize of the night was going to be.

Sidney gave them a sly smile. “I do.” He just gave them a wink. “Just laying the groundwork.” The next two games the guys won. The following was won by someone outside of their party. Then, the guys managed to win another.

“Well, it looks like we are down to the last game Miss Worchester,” Crowe looked at Suzie. “Still think you are going to win?” 

Suzie gave him a smirk, “undoubtedly. Sure, you do not want to walk away while you can? Better to leave with your pride still intact.”

Crowe gave her a huff. The last game was a shooting game to see who could hit the most targets. “There is nothing wrong with my pride, Miss Worchester, however yours will no doubted suffer from the next game.”

“I’m shaking in my boots Crowe. So, what’s the bet?” Suzie threw down. Crowe gave her a smile.

“So anxious to learn your fate?” It was Suzie’s turn to let out a huff. “Good, we will discuss it after we win.” Crowe was enjoying goading her.

Charles looked over at Esther. “I do believe Suzie doesn’t realize what she’s getting herself into.” 

Esther gave him a humorous smile. “On the contrary, Mr. Babington, I don’t think any of you realize what you got yourself into.” She gave him a light kiss. “I hope you are ready to pay up.” She gave him a wink as they started the game. 

The attendant looked at them. “There are three rounds, per group, take your gun in hand. There are 10 rounds in each clip. To reset your clip, you need to hit this,” he pointed to an area in front of them, “then restart. There is two minutes to each round. Ready?” 

The first round went to the guys, the second to the ladies barely. “Well, this should be very interesting.” Someone in the crowd said out loud. The game had gathered some on lookers. Suzie looked at Esther with a smile.

The attendant tallied up the scores and looked over to the team captains, Suzie and Crowe. “It appears that the guys won one round, the ladies two rounds.” Crowe looked over at Sidney.

“What?” Crowe stated loudly looking over at Sidney and Charles.

The attendant looked up at them. “I’m sorry, but the ladies won.”

“That is impossible.”

Suzie looked at Crowe. “Don’t tell me you tried to rig the game Crowe.”

“I have no idea what you are talking about.” He stomped off followed by the guys.

Augusta looked at them. “What’s wrong with them? It’s just a game.”

Esther laughed at her. “Oh, there was more to it than just a game Augusta.” Esther looked at the attendant. “Would you not agree Mr. Beecroft?” Mr. Beecroft let out a chuckle.

Augusta looked at Esther. “Mr. Beecroft?”

Suzie laughed. “Yes, Mr. Brian Beecroft, also known as Staff Sergeant Beecroft. We’ve been deployed together, and we lived in the same dorms at one time, isn’t that right Brian?” 

Suzie handed him an extra fifty bucks. “We’ll be at the Sanditon Surf Bar if you want some free drinks tonight. Oh, Wickham and Miranda will be there too.”

“Absolutely, never pass up free drinks. Is this some sort of dorm reunion?”

Suzie gave him another smile. “Absolutely. See you later Brian.”

“I’m not following along.” Augusta and Charlotte looked at them.

Esther let out a sigh. “Wickham is a dirt bag who cheated on both Suzie and I with Miranda. We hope to ruin their evening.

Suzie let out a sigh. “Yes, now, I suggest we go get something to eat. It’s going to be a long night and we don’t want to be drinking on an empty stomach, or it will go bad real fast.”

They decided to head back to Tom’s for dinner. The ride back was heavy in discussion about how it was impossible that the ladies won again. Tom was excited that they had returned. “Ah, my brother and his friends. Tell me, did you have a good time?”

The ladies laughed. “We had a great time. I don’t think Mr. Crowe though is incredibly happy.” Crowe walked to the dining room grumpily.

“Well, why ever not Sidney?”

“It seems that at every turn, the ladies are better shots.”

“Well, it’s only to be expected since I’m a weapons instructor, Esther is deadly, and Charlotte isn’t too bad herself. Maybe, you all just need more practice. Heck, even Augusta seems to have some natural talent.” Suzie quipped as she sat down.

“Really, I thought for sure,” Tom walked off confused.

Suzie looked at Sidney. “Oh, so Tom was in on it as well?”

Sidney looked at Charles but could not contain the amusement in his expression. “So, just what did we lose anyway?”

“Oh, it’s too early for that. We will discuss that later tonight. Right now, we need to eat and get ready. I have the feeling that tonight will be highly entertaining.” Suzie quipped at them as she looked over at Esther and gave her a wink. They ate and broke up to get ready for the night.

“So, are you going to tell me what I lost?” Charles was talking to her while she was in the bathroom curling her hair.

“Anxious to pay up Mr. Babington?” He laughed at her.

“Just how long do these things last?”

“Depends on how good the competition is and how many bands there are.”

“I take it you have done this sort of thing before?”

“Just a few times, this is more Suzie’s thing than mine. She used to do them all the time when she was growing up. She was quite the rebel child.”

“And you were not?”

Esther let out a snort. “Definitely not. I kept to myself for the most part. Easier to stay out of trouble that way. Edward got in enough trouble for the both of us. I was always getting him out of one situation or another when I was younger.”

Charles wondered what she meant. “What kind of trouble was he needing help getting out of?”

“Gambling mostly. As you know, he still has a problem, although he won’t admit it.”

“How did you get him out of that kind of trouble?”

Esther looked at him through the mirror before she walked out. “Money of course. I didn’t choose accounting for the fun of it.”

Esther walked out of the bathroom. He looked at her but forgot his question. “I see you mean business tonight.” 

She smiled at him. “Just for you,” she gave him a kiss. “Now, how do you feel about being a groupie?”

“Does it come with perks?”

“I could be easily persuaded.” Charles got up. She put her hand on his chest. “Slow down Romeo. You are going to have to wait until later.”

“I don’t want to wait.” He pulled her close. “I don’t think I want you leaving like that.” He knew she was going to be getting some looks.

Esther raised her eyebrow. “Why not?”

“Because you look like you are on the prowl. I don’t want to have to start a bunch of fights.”

Esther laughed at him. “Maybe you should mark your territory. I’ll wear my ring.”

“Damn right you’ll wear your ring.”

“Someone is turning into a bear.” He got the ring out and put it on her finger. “I would suggest not letting Crowe talk you into too many. I don’t want have to carry you down these stairs.”

“Esther,” he looked at her, the words hung in the air between them.

“I know.” She gave him a kiss. “Come on, the sooner we leave, the sooner we get back.”


	45. Sanditon Surf Bar

The ladies left them as they went to the back of the Sanditon Surf Bar to register the band. They had managed to show up early, which Suzie was glad for, as she scanned the others to size them up. There was only one band she was determined to outshine. She never got any closure with George as had been moved by the time she returned from her deployment. She was determined to give him a piece of her mind before the night was over though. Miranda too, although she reflected, could possibly be just as ignorant of George’s behavior as Esther and she had many years ago.

“Are you sure you want us on the stage with you?” Charlotte asked nervously. “I have never done this kind of thing before.”

“Neither have I,” Augusta agreed.

Suzie laughed at them. “No worries, there will be a screen that has the words and you’ll just need to sing on any background vocals or chorus lines if you feel comfortable. Esther and I have been through a few of these, so it will not bother us so much. Here let me introduce you to my old band.” Suzie introduced each one to them. They were happy to see Esther.

“Just like the good old days, hun Suzie?” Dave asked.

“Well, I would hope we are a little better now than in those old days, or it might be an embarrassment to our other friends.”

“Your other friends?”

“Yes, come let me introduce them to you.” Suzie led them over to a bar top table where the guys were sitting. “Alexander Crowe, Sidney Parker, Tim Dutton and Charles Babington.   
These guys are from my old band. Dave is the drummer, Joel is on guitar or bass, Jimmy is another guitar or bass, and Steve is piano or keyboard and vocals.” Suzie looked at them. “There will be a quiz later, so I hope you were paying attention.”

Jimmy laughed. “A quiz for us or them?”

A waitress brought over a bucket of beer. “Where is Esther?” Charles asked.

“She’s talking to Brian and his friends.” Dave pointed over towards the bar.

“Isn’t that guy from the park?” Crowe was looking at him intently.

Esther walked over carrying her bottle of water. “What’s the matter Crowe?”

“Wasn’t he at the park earlier?” Crowe asked Esther who let out a little smile.

“This is Alexander Crowe, Augusta Babington, Tim Dutton, Charlotte Heywood, Sidney Parker and my fiancé, Charles Babington.” Esther did the introductions.

“Brian Beecroft. I work there when I am not working at the Shaw Air Force Base. I’m a firefighter.” Crowe looked at Esther then Suzie.

“So, you know Suzie from the military.” Crowe was curious.

“And Esther. We all used to live in the same dorm, well for a short time while they were remodeling my dorm. Of course, that was a few years ago.” Brian said out loud looking at Suzie. “Just like old times, right?” 

“If you mean still striking out, yes.” Suzie quipped at him. Brian looked over at Esther. Suzie gave him a smile. “Keep dreaming.”

Brian let out a sigh. “Well, I’ve got to go meet some other friends. I’ll see you all around.”

“I get the feeling there was some more cheating going on Miss Worchester.” Crowe called her out. She gave him a smile while shrugging her shoulder.

“Can’t prove it. Come on, we’ve got to go get set up.” She looked at the band. Esther whispered something in Charles’ ear before she walked off.

Charles found Sidney, Crowe and Tim looking at him and he flushed. “What?”

“Hump.” Crowe looked back over towards Suzie. “Who is that?”

“George Wickham.” Charles said in a disgruntled tone as he watched him laugh at something Esther had said to him.

Suzie led them backstage. Augusta and Charlotte were nervous. “Take a shot.” Suzie poured them each a shot. “It will help with your nerves. But just one. It gets a little hot on stage, so make sure you are drinking water when we are sitting out.”

“Suzie Worchester, I never thought I would see you again.” Suzie turned to find Miranda looking at her.

“I could say the same thing. You remember Esther?” Miranda turned around to find Esther standing next to George.

“Esther, how are you?”

“I’m great, thanks for asking.” Miranda looked her over and caught the ring on her hand.

“My God, someone has spent a bunch of money.”

Esther gave her a polite smile. “My fiancé, Charles.”

“Wait, you are marrying Charles Babington?” George asked her. Miranda gave him a look. “I met him last night at the bookstore.”

“Yes, well, I would love to stay and chat, but I need to go tune my guitar.” Esther walked off.

“Yes, we need to go as well. I did run into Brian Beecroft. He’s here with some friends.” Suzie pointed over towards the bar where he was standing with his friends. George looked over that way while Suzie and the rest walked off.

Miranda looked at George. “Who is Charles Babington exactly?”

George shrugged his shoulders. “Look him up. I’ve got to go take a wiz.” He walked off towards the bathroom. On the way back, he detoured towards the bar. “Brian Beecroft.   
When Suzie said you were here, I couldn’t believe it.”

“Hello George.” George looked over at his friends.

Two drinks later, Miranda found him leaning over some girl.

“George, it’s time to set up. What are you doing?”

“Oh, Miranda. You remember Brian, right?”

“Hello Brian.” Miranda looked him over. 

“I don’t suppose I can hang out backstage?”

“The more the merrier.” Miranda answered as they followed her backstage.

The announcement of the battle band was given by a young bartender.

The guys were on their second beer for the night. 

They watched as the different bands went back and forth through the different challenges, until it came down to the last two. Suzie’s band and George’s band were keeping up with each other, despite both having some amateurs’ backup singers on each band.

Sidney watched in humor at Charlotte, who was finally having a good time. She was looking a little flushed from the dancing, he supposed.

Charles kept an eye on Esther. He had not seen her, and Suzie performed at the fund raiser, but she seemed confident. He could see where Suzie and she must have caused a lot of trouble in their hay day.

The contest finally over, the bar started to clear out. Charlotte and Augusta were the first ones back over to their table. “Where’s Suzie?” Crowe asked.

“Saying goodbye to the band. They will be back soon.” Crowe looked over at Charles who was intently looking towards the back of the stage.

“Come on Babington.” Crowe led him to the back. There was a lot going on backstage.

“Esther, I brought you a drink.” George held out a beer towards her.

“I’m good.” Esther turned her attention back to packing up the guitar. She was vaguely aware that George was standing close behind her. She stood up and found him extremely   
close. “Back off George.”

“Don’t tell me,” George leaned remarkably close to her.

“She’s not interested.” Charles came around the corner. George looked at Charles then back at Esther with a knowing look. George went to go find Suzie. “Hey. You alright?”

Esther gave him a smile. “Much better now.” She took his hand and gave him a light kiss. “Better go find Suzie.” She said goodbye to the band. They had to weave around more people and met up with Crowe who had got separated from Charles.

They found Suzie standing next to George and Miranda. She was giving George a piece of her mind. “You are a piece of crap George.”

“Please, you are one to talk Suze. You had a revolving door. Everyone knows the lifestyle in the dorms.” Miranda quipped back at her.

“Esther didn’t deserve what you did.” Suzie let out in an exasperated tone. Brian walked up to them.

“She’s an adult. She did not need your permission. In fact, as I remember she was begging for it.” George gave Suzie a haughty smirk. “Just like you.”

“You are an ass.” Suzie quipped at him. George looked over as Esther walked up with Charles and Crowe before he turned his attention back to Suzie.

“I do believe you liked my ass.” George sneered at her. “Why else would you be here?” 

“Screw off,” Suzie started to walk away, and George grabbed her arm.

“I’d let her go.” Crowe was close enough to the situation. George gave him a look but did not let go. Suzie stomped on his foot with her boot which caused him to release her. Crowe connected with his chin and it caused him to fall back.

George got his feet back under him and went to take a swing at Crowe but found Brian had stepped in and knocked him out. Miranda was screaming at all of them before the bouncers showed up. “Break it up.”

“We were leaving anyway.” Suzie grabbed Esther’s hand as they walked towards the door. They found the others and piled into the SUV except for Suzie and Esther who went with Brian. “Thanks Brian.”

“Just like old times.” He laughed at them. “It was highly entertaining.” Brian looked towards the SUV. “Looks like you both found some decent guys.” He gave them a wink. “But if it doesn’t work out, you know where to find me.” Brian left them there laughing. 

The bar manager hollered at them to wait a moment. “Who do I make this prize check to?”

Suzie looked at Esther who gave her a smile. “Wounded Warrior Project.”

The bar manager looked confused. “A charity?”

Suzie gave him a look. “Did I stutter?” The manager shrugged his shoulders and did what she told him. Suzie looked at Esther. “I think I’m ready to call it a night.”

“Me too. I’ve got an outrageous headache.” Tanner opened the door for them. The ride back was quiet. It was late, so they were quiet going downstairs into their respective rooms.

Suzie looked at herself in the mirror while her shower was getting hot. Tonight, went as good as it could. She had a bunch of other things she wanted to say to George but did not get a chance to say. She stood in the shower longer than normal. She was surprised that Crowe had gotten in the mix. She wondered how much he heard, not that it matters she suspected. He had quite the reputation back in Wilmington. She was done with that despite their previous evening. Suzie climbed in bed and curled up with her pillow.

“So, what did I lose?” Charles asked Esther as she came out from her shower. Esther took some headache pills. “What’s wrong with you?”

“I’ve got a headache.” She sat down on the bed. “I forgot how loud those then to get.”

“I got a cure.” He smiled at her.

Esther rolled her eyes. “That doesn’t work.”

“Maybe the treatment wasn’t given properly.” He tucked her in before climbing in. “You know I am a nurse.” Esther let out a little laugh.


	46. Backyard Fireworks

The holiday was going to be a busy day. Mary coordinated a cookout for her guests and Tom had invited some of his investors. Tom found Sidney sitting at the breakfast table. 

“Oh, good Sidney. There are going to be investors here today. I need your help.”

“Tom,” he let out a sigh. “I’m on vacation.”

“Is it really too much to ask for an hour or two of your time now?” Tom looked at Sidney. Charlotte walked in. Tom looked over to her. “Good morning Charlotte. I was just telling   
Sidney I needed his help today with the investors at the cookout.”

Charlotte looked over at Sidney who gave him a smile. “I’m supposed to help with the children activities. Henry, Alicia and Jenny want to have a sandcastle competition.”

Sidney let out a breath. “Very well Tom but I do plan on spending time with Charlotte today.”

“Thank you so much brother. I knew I could count on you.” Tom went bounding off. The others came strolling in.

“I see Tom is in a good mood.” Charles commented as he held out Esther’s chair.

“Yes, it appears that I’ve been asked to help grease some wheels with potential investors.”

“So, this has turned into a working vacation?” Charles looked at his friend. “Need some help? I’m sure Crowe and I can spare a few minutes.”

“That would be great.” Sidney looked over at Esther. “You don’t mind, do you?”

Esther let out a laugh. “I’ll be building sandcastles. I’m sure Charles would rather be talking business.”

They all ate breakfast and went to set up some tents along the beach to house refreshments for the children and those watching the competition.

“It’s going to be a hot day.” Charles looked at Esther. “You are probably going to need a lot of sun block.”

Esther looked at him. “Well, then I guess you better keep coming around to reapply it.” 

“Gladly.” Charles gave her a smoldering look.

“Get a room.” Augusta quipped at them as she glanced at them.

“Great idea.” Charles muttered back. Esther let out a laugh. He pulled Esther into a tent to apply the sun block liberally. “Better start this now.” He took his time applying the sun block ensuring she was well covered. Esther could not believe how flustered she was getting. Charles gave her a wink. “I’ll be back later.” It was going to be a long day at this rate.

The ladies went around to set up areas for the children to build their sandcastles and staged buckets of water with tools. Satisfied for the time being, they went for a quick dip in the water before heading back to the house for a late lunch.

Tom and Mary walked around greeting their guests as they arrived. It was a larger turnout than Tom could hope for. Tom glanced and found Sidney with his friends speaking with some financial counselors. “It appears Tim has some good connections too.” Tom mentioned to Mary. The ladies came up from the beach.

Charlotte found Mary. “Mary, you need any help?”

“Thank you, Charlotte, but I think everything is at hand. The kids are anxious. Is everything set at the beach?”

“Oh yes. Esther made a good start on one to give them inspiration.”

Augusta dragged Esther with her over to Tim who was talking animatedly to a couple of young men.

“Ah, Mr. Darcy and Mr. Bingley, this is my good friend Esther Denham and Augusta Babington.”

Bingley looked at Esther. “I know Esther. How are you?”

“I’m good. I didn’t know you would be here.” Babington walked over with Sidney.

“Yes, well, Caroline mentioned she heard something the other day when she was over speaking with Kat Babington.” Babington let out an internal groan. No wonder his mother was wanting to meet up with them when they got back. “Babington, how are you old man?”

“I’m really good.” Charles handed Esther a bottle of water.

“Well, like I was saying, Kat was speaking to Caroline about a new piece of art for her office from Airlie Gardens. I thought I heard it might be one of yours Esther.”

“I had some for a fund raiser but haven’t been back to see what happened to them.”

“I can’t believe you didn’t take Campion’s contract. That was a bad decision from my understanding.”

“Not at all.”

“Well, Sophia is very displeased.”

Esther let out a laugh. “Well, I’m not going to lose any sleep over it. In fact, it was very entertaining experience.”

“Well, Eliza is talking about suing.”

Esther raised her eyebrow but shrugged her shoulders. “I hadn’t signed any formal agreements, so she’s welcome to try.”

“I’ll be happy to.” Esther turned to find Eliza with Caroline. Esther let out a sigh. So much for a relaxing day. “I see you are still following your employer around.” Eliza turned her attention to Babington. “Hello, Charles. I’m sure you are happy to see Caroline with me.” Eliza glanced over to Sidney. “Sidney, what a surprise.”

“Eliza, what are you doing here?” Sidney asked in a disgruntling tone.

She gave him a smile. “Tom invited us. I hear he needs investors for his little project.”

Sidney rolled his eyes and walked away to find Charlotte. Eliza looked back over at Esther. “Taking work, a little seriously aren’t you.” Eliza smirked at her.

Esther let out a small laugh as she walked by her, “I haven’t even started, but don’t worry, I will soon enough.” Charles walked off with her. He caught up with her after they were out of earshot.

“I had no idea they were going to be here.” Charles looked at her.

“Charles,” Esther stopped to look at him. She let out a breath and took his hand. “I’m not mad and I’m not worried.” He searched her eyes for reassurance. Esther lowered her voice, “I love you.”

Charles looked at her before he broke out in a grin. “About time you infuriating woman.” He pulled her close for a very deep kiss.

Binley looked over at his sister. Caroline was getting ready to snap. “Caroline, this is not the place.”

“Like hell it isn’t.”

“That is his fiancé.” Darcy commented to them. He found three set of eyes on him. “His dad told me at a meeting the other day.” 

Caroline looked at Eliza. Eliza went to find Sidney.

“Your friend is making a huge mistake.” She found him talking to Tom.

“Eliza what are you talking about?”

“Babington. He’s involved with a fortune hunter.” Sidney looked over to Charles who was clearly busy now. “She has no money and it’s all over town that she’s just using him for his notoriety.”

“Why are you so concerned?”

“Because I still care about you and I know you care about your friend.” Charlotte froze standing next to Mary as she watched Eliza lean close to Sidney. Sidney squinted his eyes but   
walked away towards Charlotte, leaving Eliza to follow him. “Sidney, wait.” He was upon Charlotte as Eliza grabbed his arm.

“Eliza, don’t make a scene.” Mary commented out loud.

Eliza’s temper flared as she looked at Charlotte and back at Sidney. “Really? I thought you said she was no one.”

“She’s his fiancé Mrs. Campion.” Esther was standing behind her. “You are the only one here that is no one.” Eliza turned to look at Esther.

Eliza stepped towards Esther and gritted her teeth. “You’ll regret this.” Eliza stormed off pass the on lookers of the crowd. They watched Caroline follow Eliza out towards their car.

“Well, this is turning into quite the party Tom.” Crowe spoke loudly. Sidney took Charlotte away from the crowd.

“You have such a way of words Crowe.” Suzie quipped at him.

Crowe walked up to her and whispered something in her ear which caused Suzie to flush as he walked away.

Suzie looked at Esther. “What?” Esther laughed at her friend.

“Well, Mary, now seems to be a good time to take the kids to the beach.” Tom commented as he tried to regain control of the situation.

“Yes, I agree.” Mary called for the children to head towards the beach.

In the cool of the house, Sidney pulled Charlotte to Tom’s office. “I said nothing of the kind.” Sidney pleaded with her. “I barely even spoke to her. Charlotte.” He watched her struggle with her emotion. “Please Charlotte. I had no idea she was going to be here. If I had known, I would not even suggest coming here.”

“It doesn’t matter. If not here, then back home. Your company still deals with hers.”

“I have no control over that. You know this.” Sidney was at a loss. He could feel Charlotte’s walls coming back up.

A knock on the door interrupted them. Esther popped her head in. “Sorry, Sidney but Tom is looking for you and I need to talk to Charlotte.”

Sidney glanced at Charlotte. “Just go.” Esther tried to give him a reassuring smile as he closed the door.

“Charlotte.” Charlotte went to look out the window. “Sidney loves you.”

“How am I to get pass this if it’s always coming back around?”

“Is it always coming back around or is it her feeble attempts to get back with him?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, is he having a relationship with her still?”

“No.”

“Then, it’s old news. She’s just trying to get back with him and she is failing miserably.”

“But his company deals with hers.”

Esther let out a sigh. “Well, you can’t expect him just to change jobs because he has some girl chasing after him. I had the same problem with Scott.”

Charlotte looked at her.

“There was a female aircraft mechanic that was always chasing after Scott. I had gone to visit Scott. He had been out celebrating with his friends. I found him, well them, in his room. He was quite intoxicated.”

“He cheated on you?”

Esther let out a deep breath. “Let us just say, it didn’t look good. To be fair, we had not really decided what our relationship exactly was. I didn’t realize how much I cared for him until I walked in.” Esther wiped away some tears. “I stopped calling and writing. I sent back any letters I got. I went to the boardwalk and was on the Farris wheel and he got his friend to shut the door before I could get away. The only saving grace was I knew he would be leaving for more training and she was not going. But don’t think I didn’t wonder about any other girls he would be around after that.”

“How did you get over it?”

“Do you love him?”

“Yes,” Charlotte whispered. 

“Does he love you?”

“Yes.”

“Then let go.”

“Let go?”

“Let the pass die Charlotte. He wants to be with you. He wants to marry you. Love in unconditional, love is patient, love is kind, love is trust.” Esther gave her a pat on her hand. 

“Besides, she’ll be crawling under a rock soon.”

Charlotte furled her eyebrows at her.

“Uncle Jack left me his acquisition company. If she thinks to tangle with me, I’m going to bury her.”

“I thought you were just going to do the accounting.”

Esther let out a small chuckle. “Well, I can’t sit at home forever.”

“What about Charles? Won’t that be a problem?”

“I don’t know how it will all work. I am sure Charles is smart enough to figure it out. Now, Tim has probably got quite the masterpiece being built. I intend on winning. Come on.” Charlotte wiped her tears off as they walked out the door.

Sidney spotted Charlotte as soon as they walked out the back-patio doors. Esther went to find Charles.

“Charlotte.”

Charlotte looked at Sidney. “I’m sorry Sidney. I didn’t mean to react badly.” She gave him a light kiss which he returned deeply.

By the time Esther found Charles, he was down on the beach helping Tom’s kids with their sandcastle. Esther found him laughing as Henry was pouring sand where he was not supposed to. “This looks to be more of a moat than a castle. Who is supervising this mess?”

“I’m afraid this is beyond my expertise.” He watched her sit down.

“Well, I think it’s time we regroup, or Tim will win.” He chuckled at her as she started barking instructions.

After an hour, Tom decided to call for judging. “I’m going to need an impartial judge.” Tom looked around. “Mr. Crowe, will you do the honors?” Crowe looked up in surprise.

“This year Crowe!” Suzie yelled over the crowd.

Crowe looked at the various sandcastles to make the determination of the first three prizes and gave Tom the nominations.

“First place, Team Tim!” The children working with Tim and Augusta let out cheers. “Second, Team Babington! And third place, goes to Team Suzie!” The children were all laughing as Tom and Mary passed out ribbons.

Suzie looked at Crowe. “Third place?”

“Yes, it appears you weren’t able to cheat your way this time.”

“I didn’t cheat the last time! You are just a sore loser!” Suzie stomped off towards the house.

Crowe looked at Babington. “That woman is infuriating.”

“Don’t need to tell me about it.” He smiled at Esther. Crowe walked towards the house. The children and extra guests headed back towards the house. “Well, Miss Denham, it looks like we are all by ourselves. Care for a swim?”

Esther smiled at him as he pulled her up. “Absolutely, I’ve got sand everywhere.”

“Everywhere?” She laughed as she headed into the water. After about an hour, they decided to head back towards the house.

“Feel better?” He gave her a smirk. 

Esther smirk back at him. “Do you?”

He wrapped the towel around her and pulled her close. “I love you Esther.”

“I love you too.”

“Good grief, can’t you ever get a room?” Augusta commented as her and Tim walked over the dune and found them kissing again. Charles let out a laugh as he took Esther’s hand to walk back to the house.

“What is her problem?”

“Well, if I was a placing a wager, I would say Tim hasn’t actually made a move on her.”

“What? They’ve been sleeping in the same room.”

Esther shrugged her shoulders. “He’s not wanting a one-night stand.”

He glanced at her. “You mean, I could have just gotten away with just a one-night stand?”

“Get out of here.” She teased him. “You were sunk the first day.”

Charles let out a laugh. “I don’t know if I’d say that.”

“Who left their bathroom door open?”

“Oh, so you were spying on your house guest?”

“You were singing in the shower.” 

Charles let out a laugh. “Habit I guess.” He studied her. He let out his breath through his nose. “Besides, I was expecting company.”

Esther let out a laugh and rolled her eyes. “Shocker.”

He smiled at her. “Yes, it was. I spent the whole weekend thinking I lost my touch.” He gave her hand a squeeze as they walked. “I’m glad Augusta talked me back into coming by for the trail.”

“Don’t tell her that, she’ll never let you live it down.” He let out a laugh.

They all headed down towards the beach after dinner to watch the fireworks. “What time are you leaving tomorrow?” Tom asked Sidney.

“Good question Tom.” Sidney looked over at Babington who was sitting with Esther in his arms. “Babington, what time are we leaving?”

“Why can’t people just sit back and enjoy themselves?” He mumbled to her. “My mother wants to see us when we get back.”

“Should I be worried?”

Charles let out a small laugh. “Don’t worry. I’ll protect you from the dragon.”

“I need to get my stuff from the condo.”

“When are you going to Charlotte?”

“I can meet with Jenkins anytime this week. Sooner would probably be better though.” Esther looked back towards him. “Need to work out some business stuff too.”

“What kind?”

“Well, I doubt Uncle Jack’s business compares to yours but it’s an acquisition company.” She gave him a wink. “Might have to sign some NDAs.”

“I could just take over. Problem solved.”

Esther let out a huff. “I’m still not making you coffee.”

“Well, a guy can dream.”

Charles looked over to Sidney. Augusta would need to get back to Roanoke. “Nine?”


	47. Back to Reality

They arrived at the airport just before nine. Crowe sat next to Charles again. He was clearly agitated. Charles knew his moods and left him alone. They arrived back at Pigeon Forge, where Tim and Augusta got off.

Charles looked at his sister. “You alright?”

Augusta looked over to Tim. “Fine. I’ll call you later.”

Charles looked at Esther. “What is that all about?” 

Esther laughed at him. “The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.” He gave her a perplexed look. “She’s still trying to figure out why he’s not making any hard passes.” She whispered to him.

The plane took back off and landed in Wilmington shortly after. “Esther, can I get a ride when you head back to Charlotte?”

“Sure, when do you need to be back?”

“No later than Wednesday.”

“Okay. I’ll call you.”

Suzie looked over at Crowe. “I don’t suppose I can get a ride home?” Esther looked at them then back at Charles with a smile.

“Esther,” Charlotte called her. “Can we get together sometime?”

“Sure, just text me.”

They watched as their friends left them.

“Well, it looks like it’s just you and me now.” Esther looked at Charles. “Condo first or my parents?”

They were both expected to be grueling as Esther reflected on it. “Your parents, I guess.”

Tanner drove them to the house. Charles took her hand. “Hey, aren’t you the one that said they were going to love you more than me?” He could tell she was nervous.

Esther looked at him. “That was before. No telling what they have heard.”

“I don’t give a damn what they think.” He pulled her close. “I love you.” Esther let out a silent sigh as she leaned up against him.

Charles walked in the house. “Jackson, where are they?”

Jackson looked at the girl behind Charles. “They are in your father’s office.”

Charles took her hand and walked her upstairs.

They were looking over some papers when they walked in.

Kat gave her son a hug. “Miss Denham.” Kat was not sure about this young girl. Esther saw her tree sitting on a table. “I don’t suppose you want to sign it while you are here?”

Esther shrugged her shoulders. “Have a sharpie?” Esther could feel the eyes on her as she signed the photo and numbered it. Kat motioned her to sit down. Esther felt like she was in a job interview. She almost let out a chuckle as she was aware that Kat was trying to make her crack under her stare. The military experience was good for something.

“I imagine you are wondering why you are here?”

Esther looked over towards Charles. “I would assume it would be due to a series of unfortunate events that started when Charles decided to drive to Asheville and got lost.” She said rather blandly. Kat looked over to Chester who let out a laugh.

“This is serious Chester.” Esther leaned back in her chair relaxed. “We received a report of a serious nature.” Kat looked over to Charles. She handed him a prenup agreement.

“What’s this?” He asked her.

“What does it look like?” Charles glared at his mother before looking over at his father.

“No.” Charles replied curtly. Esther watched the showdown.

“I’m curious, which report would you be referring to?” Esther looked over at Kat. Kat was at a loss for words. Esther looked at Charles. “Just give it here.” Esther signed it quickly. Kat relaxed. “So, better now?”

“I have it on good authority that you were marrying my son for his money. You can’t blame a mother for trying to protect her child.”

Esther shrugged. “Not at all, but you should have done better research. Not sure who oversees your research team, but I would suggest finding someone else.” They looked at her perplexed. “First of all, Esther Denham doesn’t really exist. I was never adopted by my stepfather. Your prenup is technically not legal. Second, I have my own money, so I really don’t need Charles’ money.”

“Your credit report.”

“Based on a teenager’s credit that was used to unbury her stepbrother from gambling debts.”

“You have no job.”

Esther let out a small laugh. “Okay, just at the moment. I just got done with my master’s degree.”

“So how do you have money?”

“I was left some money which I heavily buried so my stepbrother couldn’t find it, in off shores accounts and investments.”

Chester appraised her. “And just who does your investing?”

“I use a broker, Tim, to funnel my money. He does not even know how I came across it. I’m a double major in accounting, finance and business management finance with a minor in acquisitions.” Esther looked at Chester wanting to make a quip remark but figured it would not be good at this time. “I interned with Viola Enterprises as a teenager.”

“I thought you interned in art galleries overseas.” Charles said out loud.

“I did, in their accounting departments.”

Chester was staring at her. “Why didn’t you help out Sophia Denham from her acquisition?”

Esther let out a deep breath. “I started but life got in the way. By the time I could it was already over.” Charles looked at her. He thought of the timeline. “You know it’s also illegal to run my credit report without my authorization.”

Chester leaned back in his chair before glancing over at Kat. “Well, she is a spitfire like Dr. Evers said she was.” He let out a chuckle. “I’m sorry dear to put you through this.” 

Chester took the prenup and shredded it.

Kat though was still looking at her in disbelief. “So, if you aren’t Esther Denham, who are you?”

Esther let out a chuckle. “Esther Eling.”

“Related to Jack, are you?” Charles looked at his father.

Esther gave them a smile. “Uncle Jack, yes. He made me study your first attempt to take over Denham Holdings. I believe I had to write some horrendous twelve-page paper on it when I was a sophomore in high school, which is how I ended up meeting Dr. Evers. I took a correspondence course and he invited me up over spring break one year to discuss it.”

Kat let out a breath. “I’m sorry.”

Esther felt a little sorry for being so abrupt with them. She leaned back in the chair. “I’ll apologize for being so hostile.”

“Well, why don’t we go downstairs where it is more comfortable?”

Charles looked at her after his parents left. “I thought you didn’t know who I was.”

“I never said I didn’t know who you were. I said I did not follow social media. Besides, I studied the company almost ten years ago.” Esther glanced at him. “Besides, if I remember correctly, you showed up on my doorstep not the other way around. Besides, you know if I had said something sooner, you would have thought I was chasing you for your money.”

He let out a breath. “You are very perceptive.”

“It’s my analytical skills. Now, I am perfectly willing to sign a prenup with my correct name.”

“Absolutely not. Trust works both ways.” He smiled at her. “But just what I am to call you?”

Esther gave him a wink. “Yours of course. Now, I have a profoundly serious question.” He looked at her. “Just where is your room?”

“You are incorrigible.”

“Fine, shall we go downstairs now?”

They spent an hour talking and getting to know each other. Kat was surprised on how easy it had been to talk to her. She finally understood how her son had easily fallen in love with her. 

Kat looked at Esther. “Perhaps, we can do lunch sometime this week?”

“I’ll let you know. I’ve got to go to Charlotte first.”

Tanner opened the door for them. “Well, that is over. Ready to go get Goliath?”

“Absolutely. I feel lost without my car.”

“You get used to it.”

“Doubtful.”

They arrived at the condo and Esther looked at Goliath. She half expected to see if trashed after she kicked Frank Churchill. Mrs. Collins opened the door.

Dr. Evers and Molly greeted them warmly. Molly gave Esther a hug while Dr. Evers shake hands with Charles.

“Well, I had hoped you would stay with us for a bit.” Molly commented while Esther was packing her stuff from the room. “But Mrs. Collins mentioned there were a lot of memories here for you.”

Esther wiped her eyes. “Good memories, Molly.”

“Charles is a good man?”

Esther smiled. “Yes, although I’m not sure I’m going to get him to read any Jane Austen books.”

“Oh, that reminds me. Let me go get your book.” Esther took a deep breath while Molly went upstairs. Charles took her bags out to the truck. “Now, we will be in town for a few weeks. How about we do dinner sometime?”

“I would like that.” Molly gave her another hug and then Dr. Evers.

Charles looked at her. “Well, since I know where we are going, do I get to drive?”

“You want to drive my baby? I thought you were scared of him.”

He laughed while she handed him the key. He drove back towards town and pulled into the garage. “Don’t judge me and my décor.”

“I make no promises. Why?”

“Well, Esther, you are the first girl other than family and close friends, that has been here.”

He opened the main door.

He flushed a little as he opened it. Esther let out a little laugh. “Hey, I said no judgement.”

“No judgement, just a little surprised that is all. Although, being an acquisition and merger guy, it does make sense.”

“What does that mean?”

“Oh, don’t be so offended. It’s a little extreme, but I like it.”

“I’m not offended.” He took her hand and gave her a smile, “I am glad you like it but if you did not, then I would be more than happy for you to make it your own. Now, what shall we do?” He laughed at her expression.

Esther looked at Suzie as they drove towards Charlotte. “You’ve been awful quiet these last few days. What have you been up to?”

Suzie looked at her friend with a smile. “I’ve just been enjoying my last few days before going back to the grind.”

“I see you’ve gotten some sun.” Esther studied her. “If I didn’t know any better, you seem very coy about it.”

Suzie let out a laugh.

“Oh, you are holding out some information. I will let you keep your secrets then. I shall find them out soon enough.”

“Have you and Charles set a date?”

Esther let out a laugh. “Are you in a hurry to get me married off?”

“I’m just wondering when I shall get to take my next set of leave dates.” Esther let out a sigh.

“Well, just for you Suzie, why not spend some time looking at the calendar while I am here for a few days getting things settled.”

Suzie laughed. “What about Charles?”

Esther laughed. “He’s pretty anxious. I would not believe a man would be so. I think he would be just as happy to elope in Vegas if his mother would let him.”

“Mrs. Kat. I imagine she has quite to say about the matter.”

“Yes, she has on several occasions. Sophia is set to come next week. There shall be quite a showdown I imagine. It makes me want to pull out my hair just thinking about it.”

“Well, at least Aunt Sophia has a good opinion of Charles.” Suzie spoke softly as she looked out the window. 

Esther studied her friend. “I take it Aunt Susan doesn’t think to highly of Alex?”

Suzie turned her head quickly, “What?”

Esther let out a laugh. “I heard her speaking to Kat about some young man that had been paying her niece some attention.” Suzie let out a laugh.

“It’s not polite to listen to other people’s conversations.”

“A habit I picked up from Babington.” Esther looked at her friend. “Besides, I think you might surprise that Aunt Susan has a higher opinion of him than you think.”

“Well, I’m not going to get hung up over it.”

“No, not at all I can tell.” Esther laughed at her as she arrived at Suzie’s dorm. “I’ll go get checked in. Give me a text when you find out your work schedule for the next few days and we can figure out when we can get together. Thanks for rescuing me.” Suzie gave her a hug.

“Alright. Don’t go speeding on base or you’ll have to walk everywhere.”

“Me? Speed? I have no idea what you mean.” Esther heard her chuckled as she pulled out.


	48. Mrs. Babington

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks again to the commenters and readers.
> 
> Hopefully season 2 is coming!

A clear night sky blanketed against the soft glow of lights in the garden. Kat walked around speaking to the wedding coordinator, Jazzy, on last minute changes. Sitting off to the side of the Airlie Oak, a large tent had been erected for the ceremony and reception. Sophia was walking around with Chester and greeting guests as they mingled in.

“You know it’s not too late,” Crowe quipped as he handed Charles a drink.

Charles gave him a look in the mirror as he fixed his bow tie. “Didn’t you just get yourself engaged the other day?”

Crowe let out a laugh. “I meant from all this hoopla. I prefer something much shorter if you know what I mean.”

“You mean like Sidney’s? On the beach with a small party?” Charles glanced over at Sidney.

“Well, I am rather glad Charlotte was happy to have such an event.” Sidney looked over at his friends.

“Yes, well, you know my mother.” Charles looked back at Crowe. “I am rather surprised though about you.”

“Well, if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em,” Crowe chuckled. “Although, I am pretty sure they are still cheating when we go paintballing.”

“Absolutely.” Sidney agreed. “Although, I believe Augusta has been getting some private lessons.”

Charles laughed. “Yes, it seems Esther found out that Tim was rather good himself. She wanted to make sure the level was evened out.”

“Well, Mrs. Babington, you ready to make our escape?” Charles asked her after a while. Crowe was trying to sing along with Suzie and having a hard time after drinking a little more than he should had. 

“You mean you don’t want to subject your ears to Crowe any longer?”

“I rather just get you to myself.” He was holding her close while they danced.

“Always.” She smiled up at him.

“Get a room,” Augusta whispered as she danced with Tim. 

Charles laughed at his sister. “Great idea.” Charles looked at Esther. “Come on, let’s go.” Esther laughed at him as he dragged her off the dance floor towards their car and their future life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That is all :)

**Author's Note:**

> As always, love to hear comments (good or bad). Hope you enjoy the story!


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